Chaos Theory
by Violetrose93
Summary: When you're a pretty, popular cheerleader, high school should be a breeze. But for Dawn, each day is a lesson in chaos theory; erratic and unpredictable. Things become even more chaotic after she becomes friends with the Paul, a solitary, sarcastic braniac with an interest in robotics, which doesn't sit well with Barry, the football jock who wants Dawn for himself. Ikarishipping!
1. Collision

**Okay, so I may or may not be crazy, trying to update two stories at one, but I'll give it a shot. I've had people ask me to do a longer ikarishipping fic, most notably Jessicuhxoo, so here we go. I'll just warn everyone now, if you're a twinleafshipper, you probably don't want to read this. Thanks!**

Dawn sighed, watching the leaves swirl across the pavement. It was barely October, but autumn was already in the air. She shivered and drew her coat around her, focusing on the gym door. If she could only get inside . . .

Beside her, Barry was ambling on aimlessly about his latest football triumph. Dawn sighed internally, tempted to let him know exactly what she thought about football. She might be a cheerleader, but Dawn had absolutely zero interest in the sport itself.

_Wham!_

Dawn had been so focused on getting inside where it was warm that she had walked right into someone. She stumbled backwards, overcorrected, and fell. Her coat cushioned the worst of the fall, but Dawn winced as the rough asphalt bit into the her hands.

"Are you okay?" Barry hovered over her, his light brown eyes filled with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Dawn said, letting him help her to her feet. Barry whipped around, anger darkening his face, as he focused on the guy who Dawn had run into. She vaguely recognized him from some of her classes, but he wasn't someone she had ever spoken to. As he tried to get up, Barry walked over and shoved him back down.

"Hey, buddy, watch where you're going," Barry said aggressively.

"Barry, it's fine, it was my fault," Dawn said putting a hand on Barry's arm.

Barry sneered down at the guy. "Watch it, loser." Smirking, Barry looked at Dawn expectantly, as if waiting for her to thank him. Dawn just looked at him, unimpressed.

"I'll see you after practice," she said. Barry frowned slightly but left, making his way towards the football field. Dawn sighed and reached down to help the guy to his feet. He ignored her outstretched hand, however, and stood up. He brushed himself off and readjusted his bag, not even looking at Dawn.

"I'm sorry about that," Dawn said apologetically. "Barry's just a little overprotective."

"It's fine," the guy said curtly. He pulled his dark gray beanie further down, so the hat covered his ears. Dawn couldn't help but notice how good it looked with his purple hair.

"I'm Dawn, by the way," she said. "We're in some of the same classes."

The guy nodded once but didn't respond. Dawn was trying to think of something else to say when she heard May calling her name.

"Dawn! Hurry up, Jade wants to start!"

Dawn turned and called, "Alright, I'll be right there." She looked back, but the guy was already walking away as if nothing had happened. Dawn sighed unhappily and started walking towards the gym. At least she had cheer practice to look forward to.

"Oh my God, that was horrible," May said as she tied her shoes. "I don't know what's up with Jade, but she was on a warpath tonight."

"Agreed," Dawn said, wrapping her scarf around her neck.

"Hey, why were you talking to Paul before practice?" May asked, pulling on her coat. They were the last ones in the locker room since May didn't like changing in front of the other girls. Besides Marina, most of their fellow cheerleaders were kind of bitchy, especially Jade. After May had joined the squad at the beginning of the year, the others had decided that she was the weak link. It was only after Dawn stepped in that they started leaving May alone.

"Oh, is that his name?" Dawn asked.

"Um, yeah. He's in all of your classes."

"How do you know?"

May rolled her eyes. "Because _I'm_ in all of your classes."

"Oh, yeah." Dawn smiled sheepishly. "I've never really noticed him before."

"He sits in the back a lot," May said, shrugging. "But he's really smart. Marina doesn't like him because he might knock her into second for class rankings."

Dawn giggled. "And then Marina's head might explode."

"Yeah, really. But you didn't answer my question."

"Oh, I ran into him. Literally," Dawn explained, grabbing her bag. They made their way outside, and Dawn winced as they moved from cozy warmth to frigid cold.

"You really should watch where you're going," May said, shaking her head.

"I know. It was an accident, although try explaining that to Barry."

May winced. "Did he . . ."

"Turn into a raging asshole?" Dawn raised an eyebrow. "Why yes, yes he did. Honestly, I don't know what his problem is lately."

"Maybe he just doesn't like seeing you with other guys," May said, waggling her eyebrows. Dawn smacked her on the shoulder.

"Shut up."

"You know it's true," May sang, dodging as Dawn tried to hit her again.

"What's true?" Barry grinned as he strode up to them, looking attractively windblown. Dawn had to admit, Barry was good looking. Gone were the skinny, scrawny days of middle school. Football had certainly been kind to him, and Dawn knew personally that almost every girl in school would kill for a date with him. Unfortunately, his personality hadn't kept up with his looks, and Dawn had a hard time stomaching some of the things he was doing lately.

"Oh, nothing," May said, shooting Dawn a sly glance.

Barry laughed. "Okay, then. You need a ride home, May?"

May shook her head. "No, I'm stuck here for another couple of hours. Drew and I have to finish that project for history."

Now it was Dawn's turn to waggle her eyebrows. "Don't get too carried away, now. I'm not ready to be an aunt."

May blushed fiercely. "Um, not happening. We're just friends, and our topic's the Holocaust."

Dawn winced. "Eek, sorry."

"It's fine," May said nonchalantly. "See you tomorrow."

Dawn grinned and waved as May walked around to the history wing. Despite the fact that May had only moved into the district last year, they were already best friends.

"So, what you want to do now?" Barry asked, raising an eyebrow. He had a gleam in his eye that made Dawn slightly nervous.

"Oh, I'm just going to go home. I've still got that English paper to write," she lied. In reality, that English paper had been done since last Saturday, but she certainly wasn't going to tell Barry that.

"Oh," Barry said, looking disappointed. "Well, you'll be at the game tomorrow, right?"

Dawn resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Of course. I have to cheer, don't I?"

Barry grinned. "Yeah, and if we win, I'll expect a congratulations."

"Oh, really?" Dawn giggled uncomfortably. She had an idea as to what Barry was getting at, but she thought it was safest to just play dumb.

"Really." Barry gave her what he probably thought was an alluring look, but Dawn thought it just made him look like he was in pain.

"Uh oh, there's my mom," Dawn said, relief spreading through her as she spotted her mom's car. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She gave him a quick hug and then made her escape, thanking the powers at be for her mother's impeccable timing.

The next day at lunch, Dawn purposefully wedged herself in between May and Marina, hoping to keep her distance from Barry. He didn't seem to notice, however, because he was locked in a heavy conversation about football with Justin, the team's running back.

"Oh, so Jimmy asked me to Fall Ball," Marina said casually, as if that wasn't huge news. Dawn and May both squealed, and for the moment, Barry was banished from Dawn's mind.

"No way! When?" Dawn was practically bouncing out of her seat. May was slightly more subdued, but her face was still flushed with excitement for her friend. They both knew how long Marina had had a crush on Jimmy.

"Last night." Marina blushed. "He caught me before cheer practice."

"Ooh, I bet Jade wasn't happy," May whispered, glancing around to make sure no one was listening.

"So that's why she was in such a foul mood." Dawn grinned. "Well, good for you. Somebody needed to wipe that smirk off her face."

A commotion on the other side of the cafeteria caught their attention. Dawn looked up just in time to see Barry "accidentally" knock into Paul, sending him and his tray flying.

The whole cafeteria froze, eyeing the spectacle with interest. It was like a train wreck; you wanted to look away, but couldn't.

"Oops, sorry," Barry said mockingly. "I should watch where I'm going."

Someone tittered, and then everyone was laughing. Paul just glared up at Barry through a mask of ground meet and sour cream.

"Oh, it had to be taco day," Dawn moaned, tugging on a strand of hair in distress. Barry smirked before flicking a stray piece of lettuce off of his arm, right onto Paul's face. Barry shoved his hands into his pockets as he sauntered back to their table, not even watching as Paul picked himself up and headed for the doors.

As he sat down, Barry grinned at Dawn, but she just stared at the table. She waited long enough for everyone to go back to their conversations before she picked up her tray and stood.

"I'll see you later," she muttered to May. After she threw her garbage away, Dawn walked into the hallway. The noise and confusion from the cafeteria immediately faded away, replaced by silence.

As she walked down the hall towards the bathrooms, Dawn wondered what she was doing. She didn't even know Paul that well. She hadn't even known his name until May told her. It wasn't like they were friends or anything. But still, Dawn couldn't help feeling guilty. After all, it was her fault that Barry had done what he did.

Paul came out of the boys' room looking extremely pissed. His white long sleeved tee was covered in meat stains, while bits of lettuce and sour cream still clung to his now damp hair. He took one look at Dawn and his face darkened even further. Paul turned abruptly and started walking away.

"No, wait," Dawn said, chasing after him.

"What do you want?"

Dawn winced. If looks could kill, she was certain she'd be dead several times over.

"I'm sorry about that, back there. . ."

"Why are you sorry?" Paul asked tersely. "Your boyfriend's the one who has issues."

"Not my boyfriend," Dawn muttered under her breath. Louder, she said, "Yeah, but he wouldn't have done that if I hadn't walked into you last night."

Paul chuckled darkly. "No, he wouldn't have done that if he didn't have mental problems. Your lack of coordination has nothing to do with it."

Dawn bristled. "Lack of coordination? Hey, you ran into me, too."

A pair of dark gray eyes narrowed at her. "And yet, I don't see you covered in taco guts."

Dawn snorted. "Taco guts."

Paul rolled his eyes as the bell rang. "And on that note, I think I will head to class."

Dawn groaned. "Kill me now. Ms. Mitchell's freaking awful." They started walking to the chem lab together. May had been right. He was in all of her classes.

"Why?" Paul looked puzzled.

"She flips out on me every time I ask her a question." Dawn winced, recalling how she'd been yelled at in front of the entire class. "How can you not have noticed that?"

Paul shrugged. "I finish early, so I go to the physics lab."

Dawn wrinkled her nose. "Why?"

"Because that's where all the cool parties are, duh," Paul said dryly.

"Ha, ha, very funny," Dawn said, making a face.

Paul started to say something, but something caught his attention behind Dawn. Wariness crossed his face, and Dawn watched as he withdrew back into his shell.

"What's up?" Dawn felt her stomach drop as Barry came up behind her, slinging an arm over her shoulders. "How's Paulina doing today? Get all that taco off?"

Dawn glared at him and shrugged off his arm. "Stop being a jerk, Barry."

Paul didn't say anything; he just turned and walked into the classroom, leaving Dawn and Barry alone in the hall.

"Freak," Barry said, watching Paul go. "I don't want you talking to that guy, Dawn. He's weird."

Dawn narrowed her eyes. "I'll talk to whoever I want."

Barry just chuckled and looked at Dawn like she naïve, which infuriated her more. "Okay, Dee. Whatever you say." Barry chuckled again, and he sounded like he was humoring a small child. Dawn felt her hand twitch as she fought the urge to slap him. Without another word, she turned and stomped into the lab, biting her tongue to keep herself in line.

**Hehehe, Barry's such a jerk. Anyway, this is really a Dawn/Paul centric fic, and while there's going to mentions of contestshipping and questshipping, it'll be very minor. I really do love May and Marina, but I wanted to focus on Dawn more. Anyway, if you like this and want to see me update, leave me a review and tell me what you think. Thanks!**


	2. Irregardless

**Chapter two!**

Dawn groaned and pressed an ice pack to her head, wincing as her skull throbbed harder. The second half of the game was well under way, but instead of cheering, Dawn was sitting in the first aid booth, a welt the size of a walnut on the front of her head.

All around her, the purple and black clad Pennington fans screamed as Barry scored another touchdown, bringing the score to 45-2. The Rochester Raiders looked sad and defeated in their orange and white uniforms, and Dawn could tell that they just wanted this game to be over.

They weren't the only ones. Dawn sighed, wishing her mother hadn't decided to start working nights at the bakery. With both her parents working late, Dawn had to rely on May to give her rides home. And May couldn't leave until the game was finished.

On the field, Dawn watched as the squad lifted Jade on top of the pyramid. Dawn narrowed her as Jade beamed, waving her pompoms at the crowd. The fact that Jade's forest green hair clashed miserably with the purple cheer leading uniforms was of little comfort to Dawn.

Barry scored again, and the crowd roared. Dawn winced at the noise, her eyes watering from the pain in head. She decided to go wait for May out in the parking lot, where it was quieter. Dawn slipped out the back of the tent and made her way to the gate, shivering as she watched her breath pool in icy clouds in front of her.

The silence was beautiful. The parking lot was empty, and the only things that moved were the leaves scuttling across the pavement. Dawn made her way to the edge of the lot where she sighed and collapsed at the base of a tree, leaning her head against the trunk. The cold bark felt good against her pounding skull, and Dawn closed her eyes, wondering if anyone would notice if she slept out here.

"What are you doing?"

Dawn opened her eyes and looked up to see Paul standing there, gazing down at her critically.

"Sleeping," Dawn said, closing her eyes again.

She heard Paul snort. "It's a little cold."

"I'm fine," Dawn said, shrugging.

"Shouldn't you be cheering or something?"

Dawn opened her eyes and looked at him, irritated. She leaned forward and brushed the hair off her forehead, revealing the knot. "I'm not allowed. They take head injuries seriously here."

"Jesus. Why don't you go home?"

"May's my ride," Dawn said. "And she's still cheering."

"Call your mom."

"She's working."

"Call your dad."

"He's working."

"Brothers? Sisters?"

"Only child." Dawn smiled faintly. "It's fine. May will be done soon anyway."

Paul just shook his head. "You know, for someone with so many friends, this is kind of sad."

Dawn glared at him. "What's that supposed to me?"

"You're curled up under a tree, all alone, with a head injury and it's freezing. You tell me."

"Thanks for your concern, but I'm just fine," Dawn snapped, standing up.

"Obviously," Paul said, smirking slightly. He shoved his hands into his pockets, seemingly impervious to the death glare Dawn was giving him.

"Why are you even here?" Dawn asked hotly. "It's not like you watch the games."

"Robotics club," Paul said shortly.

"On a Friday night?" Dawn asked incredulously.

Paul just shrugged. "That's when the school's the emptiest."

"Hmph."

"What? No comeback?"

Dawn resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him. She wasn't going to admit it, but that was kind of smart.

"Well, come on, then," Paul said, starting to walk away.

"What?"

"I'll take pity on you and give you a ride home," Paul said, not looking back. "Unless you'd rather stay?"

"I'm coming," Dawn said, scrambling after him.

Dawn sighed and collapsed against the back of the seat. Under normal circumstances, getting into a black truck with a guy she barely knew would have been classified under "Decisions Stupid Girls Make in Horror Movies". But her head hurt too much, and all she wanted to do was go home and curl up in bed.

When Paul reached forward and cranked up the heat, Dawn realized that she was shivering. They drove in silence for a while, with Dawn occasionally giving him directions. They were on Cherrygrove Road when a car pulled out in front of them suddenly.

"Shit," Paul muttered, slamming on the brakes. Dawn jerked forward, the seatbelt catching her painfully across the chest. The sudden stop caused her headache to worsen considerably.

"Ow," she whimpered, holding her head.

"Sorry," Paul said, watching as the car in front of them swerved back and forth across the road.

"It wasn't your fault," Dawn said. The car lurched to the side, turning off into a driveway. Paul's long fingers gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white as they passed the car. "He's drunk," Paul muttered, glaring out the window as they sped by.

"Probably," Dawn replied. "Oh, turn here."

Paul took the turn a little too sharp, and Dawn moaned again in pain. "I'm gonna kill Jade," she muttered under her breath.

"If you do, I'll give you a cookie," Paul said, and Dawn giggled. "What'd she do?"

"She dropped me," Dawn replied. "On my head."

"On purpose?"

"Probably. She's a total bitch."

"Just tell your boyfriend. He'll take care of her for you."

"Why do you keep doing that?"

"What?

"Calling Barry my boyfriend." Dawn glared at him. "It's kind of annoying."

Paul looked confused. "Aren't you . . ?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" Dawn said, exasperated.

Paul looked like he was about to say something, but he thought better of it. "Which one's your house?"

Dawn realized they were on her street. "Oh, the one the end." As Paul pulled into the driveway, Dawn realized just how creepy her house looked at night. All the windows were dark, and the trees in the yard had lost most of their leaves, their bare branches arching menacingly against the sky.

"Well, thanks for the ride," Dawn said, opening the door.

Paul just nodded. For a second, Dawn thought about inviting him inside. But Paul was already shifting gears, so she shut the door and started up the front path. As Dawn unlocked the door, she realized that Paul hadn't pulled away yet. She opened the door and stepped inside, waving at him. The truck pulled away, and Dawn watched the tail lights disappear into the darkness. With a start, she realized that Paul had been waiting to make sure she got inside before leaving. Without realizing it, Dawn smiled to herself as she shut the door.

As far as Dawn was concerned, Monday came too soon. On the bus, Dawn collapsed next to May, her head still aching dully.

"Where did you go on Friday?" May asked without preamble. "I looked for you after the game, but you were just gone."

"Oh, I wasn't feeling well, so someone else gave me a ride home," Dawn said nonchalantly, not looking at May.

"Really? Who?" May asked curiously.

"Paul," Dawn said casually. May's eyebrows shot up her forehead, and Dawn thought that if her eyes got any wider, she could use them as dinner plates.

"Paul _Shinji_?" May asked, keeping her voice low.

Dawn nodded, shrugging. "It's no big deal."

"Until Barry finds out and _kill_s_ him_," May said seriously. "Then it'll be a huge deal." Dawn gritted her teeth.

"I don't want to talk about Barry right now. In fact, I don't want to talk about anything. I'm going to close my eyes and pretend that I'm on a plane to Paris."

May just smiled and shook her head, although she still looked uneasy. Truthfully, that was how Dawn felt too. She didn't want Barry giving Paul any more trouble. Despite Paul's . . . thorny exterior, Dawn genuinely liked the guy. He was funny, in a biting, sarcastic sort of way.

And smart, obviously. Dawn tried to remember that last time she'd had a conversation with Barry about something other than football or cheerleading. Nothing came to mind.

"Dawn, we're here," May said, nudging Dawn gently.

"Paris?" Dawn asked hopefully.

"Sorry, it's just Pennington."

"Dammit."

Dawn practically ran from the bus to the door, eager to escape the biting wind. Unfortunately for her, one of the janitors had dumped a bucket of dirty water on the sidewalk the night before. Dawn's foot hit a thick slab of ice and she went flying, right into Paul.

"We've got to stop meeting like this," Dawn joked, scrambling to her feet. "Sorry."

Paul just sighed as he picked himself up. "I will reiterate my comment about your general lack of coordination."

Dawn just looked sheepish. It wasn't like she could really argue.

"Dawn! Are you okay?" May avoided the ice carefully and came up beside her, looking even more anxious than she had on the bus.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Dawn replied. "Although my ego might not recover."

"Not anytime soon, anyway," Paul quipped. Dawn just stuck her tongue out at him. May started to giggled, but the sound died in her throat at the arrival of Barry. Dawn recognized the look in his eye immediately.

"Barry, don't—" Dawn started to say, but Barry shouldered her aside, ignoring her completely.

"I thought I told you to watch where you were going, Shinji?" Barry shoved Paul in the chest. Paul stumbled backwards, knocking into the wall.

"It's not my fault she keeps running into me," Paul said coldly. He paused, and then added, "Maybe she's trying to tell you something." May giggled, sounding slightly hysterical, as she watched Barry and Paul with wide eyes. Dawn glared at Paul, her blue eyes narrowed.

"Stop antagonizing him," she muttered. Paul looked at her, his eyes glinting slightly, and Dawn realized that he was enjoying this.

Barry seemed about ready to lose control. He grabbed Paul by the front of his shirt and leaned in close.

"I'll tell you one more time, Shinji. Don't talk to her. Don't even _look_ at her."

"I'll say it again, she's the one who keeps running into me."

"Irregardless," Barry snarled, tightening his grip on Paul's shirt. Dawn winced. That so wasn't a word. Not even close. Paul smirked, his eyes meeting her for a fraction of a second. And Dawn knew that he was laughing at Barry, too.

"Do you understand me?" Barry growled.

"Well, maybe if you spoke proper English . . ." Barry just about choked on his rage, and Dawn cringed, waiting for the first punch to fall. Fortunately, Paul was saved by an angel in the form of the 12th grade calculus teacher.

"What's going on here?" Mr. Xenakis asked, striding up to the group. Barry let go of Paul immediately and stepped back, smiling.

"Nothing. Just asking Paul here about the chem homework we had last night."

"Hmm," Mr. Xenakis said, studying them all. Dawn suddenly knew why she had always liked Mr. Xenakis. He was one of the few teachers who wasn't completely enamored with Barry. "The bell's about to ring. Get to class."

No one needed to tell them twice. Barry left, shooting once last dirty glance at Paul over his shoulder as he walked away. May, Paul, and Dawn turned and headed towards the English wing, waiting until they were out of sight of Mr. Xenakis to stop and catch their breaths.

"What the hell was that?" Dawn demanded, glaring at Paul. He just shrugged. May shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"Um, I'm gonna go . . ." No one was really paying attention to her. May shook her head and walked away, chuckling under her breath.

"Why did you provoke him like that?"

"Relax."

"Relax? Paul! He's going to make your life miserable. Why couldn't you just—"

"Just what? Keep quiet and let him walk all over me?" Paul snapped.

"There's a balance between being a welcome mat and offering yourself up as a freaking punching bag, Paul! If Mr. X hadn't shown up . . ."

Paul looked at her sharply. "Why did you call him that?"

"Call him what?" Dawn asked nervously.

"Mr. X. Only people who have his class call him that."

"Oh, Marina has him," Dawn lied quickly. "I've heard her call him that so many times, I guess it just sank in."

"Hmm." Paul didn't look convinced, but just then the first bell rang. The hallway was almost empty, with only a few stragglers rushing to beat the late bell.

"I'm going to English now," Dawn said, walking away. "I'm not being late on top of everything else today."

Behind her, she heard Paul snort. "Too late." Dawn gritted her teeth as the late bell rang.

"Dammit"

**So, lessons learned. Dawn doesn't like the cold, Barry's an idiot, and May's just sort of . . . there. Eh, I'll take it. Thanks, and please review!**


	3. Stubborn

**I think this is my longest chapter ever. Still, I hope everyone likes it. Here's chapter 3. **

At the front of the room, Mr. Larkin was droning on and on about the precursors to the American Revolution. Dawn usually enjoyed learning about the revolution; it was a rebellion, after all, and rebellions were generally exciting. But Mr. Larkin had somehow managed to turn the war into a lecture on obeying authority and respecting your elders.

May leaned over and wrote something in Dawn's notebook. _Mercy kill?_

Dawn suppressed a giggle. _No! Then I'll be all alone . . ._

May smirked. _No you won't. You have Paul._

"Shut up," Dawn mouthed, narrowing her eyes. May just laughed silently and wrote, _You know it's true_.

Before Dawn could reach over and strangle her best friend, the bell rang, releasing them all to seventh period.

"Freedom!" May exclaimed, grabbing her things. "We have a nap next—oh wait, I mean study hall."

Dawn just shook her head. "Not me," Dawn replied. "It's Monday, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry," May said, grimacing.

"Yeah, well . . ." As far as any of Dawn's friends knew, she had math tutoring on Mondays. Trigonometry was a nasty subject, so no one really questioned her on this. Dawn and Paul reached the door at the same time. He looked at her and took a giant step backwards, averting his eyes melodramatically.

"Let me know when you're a safe distance away," Paul said sardonically, staring at the ceiling. Dawn huffed and stomped through the door, followed by a chuckling May. In the hall, May turned left, heading towards the cafeteria, while Dawn began the long trek to the calculus room. Three flights of stairs later, Dawn entered Mr. Xenakis's room, breathing heavily.

"Hey, Dawn," Mr. Xenakis said, not looking up from the papers on his desk. He was one of the youngest teachers in the school, barely twenty six, with short black hair and tan skin marked by hundreds of freckles. His intense blue eyes were shrouded by black framed glasses, giving him a perpetual analytical look. A lot of girls in school had crushes on him, but Dawn had always thought that having crushes on teachers was just weird.

"What's up, Mr. X?" Dawn tossed her stuff down onto a desk, pulling a pencil and calculator from her purse.

"I'm grading the latest calculus tests. They just started derivatives."

"Joy," Dawn said, rolling her eyes.

Mr. Xenakis finished grading the last test and sighed in frustration. "Sometimes I don't think they listen to word I'm saying." 

Dawn laughed. "They're seniors. I think everybody's just ready to graduate."

"Well, if I keep getting tests like that, some people _won't_ graduate." Mr. Xenakis sighed again and ran a hand through his hair. "But anyway, let's get started." He went over to his desk and pulled out another folder, a blue on this time. He took out two sheets out, handed one to Dawn, and then set the timer on his phone.

"Okay, get ready . . . get set . . . go!"

For the next ten minutes, they both worked feverishly through the problem sheets. It was high level calculus, pure derivatives, with a few natural logarithms and exponents thrown in just to mess with them. This was what Dawn called "tutoring". The buzzer sounded and Dawn slammed her pencil down, grinning.

"I finished them all," Dawn bragged.

"But are they all right?" Mr. Xenakis asked mockingly.

Dawn made a face. "We'll see."

Mr. Xenakis went and got the answer sheet from the folder and started grading the problems. Dawn peered over his shoulder, making sure he didn't make any mistakes. When he was done, Mr. X circled their scores in red at the tops of the paper.

"That's a 97 for me and a . . . 98 for you."

Dawn let out a victory whoop and did a little dance. "Ha, that puts me in the lead," she said, noting down their scores on the score sheet. "I'm ahead by . . . three points."

"Keep going like this, Dawn, and I'll tell the school board to make you teach this class."

"You wouldn't," Dawn whispered, freezing. Mr. Xenakis laughed.

"Relax, Dawn. I'm not that cruel." 

"Oh, good," Dawn said in relief.

The phone rang on the wall, and Mr. Xenakis answered it. "Oh, okay. Thanks Leanne." He hung up and turned to Dawn. "I have to run down to the office for a second."

"That's fine," Dawn said. "I want to go over the answer sheet again, see what I missed.

"Don't get too crazy," Mr. Xenakis said sarcastically as he left.

Dawn started going over her problems. She was so absorbed in her picking out her mistakes that she didn't notice Paul poke his head in the door and look around for Mr. Xenakis. He looked at her for a second, waiting for her to realize he was there, and when she didn't, Paul walked over and started studying the problem sheets over her shoulder. Her name and score were scrawled across the top of the problem sheet, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that the problems she had just solved were way above an average high school level.

"For someone who needs a math tutor, you seem to have a pretty good handle on doctorate level calculus," Paul said, startling Dawn out of her trance. She flinched, knocking the papers onto the floor.

"What are you doing here?" Dawn asked, scrambling to hide her problem sheet. "You should be in study hall."

"Mr. X is the robotics club advisor; I needed to talk to him about something. The question is, what are _you_ doing here? You take trig."

Dawn didn't answer. She was breathing heavily as her mind spun, trying to come up with an explanation, any explanation.

Paul just shook his head. "Unbelievable."

Dawn's head snapped around as she glared at him, her eyes blazing. "You know what, Paul? Why don't you mind your own business. No one asked you to come barging in here and start snooping through my things."

"Snooping?" Paul asked incredulously. "They were in plain sight, and you were right there. You just weren't paying attention." 

Dawn started to reply, but just then Mr. Xenakis returned.

"Paul?"

"Hey, Mr. X," Paul said, sounding friendlier than Dawn had ever heard him. "I just wanted to know if Nicole had talked to you yet about the robot." 

"Yes, she stopped in this morning," Mr. Xenakis replied, sighing. "What's wrong exactly?"

Paul sighed. "We're not sure. It's kind of buggy. Eric is trying to fix it, but so far all he's managed to do is burn out another engine."

"I have a few minutes now to check it out, if you're free," Mr. Xenakis offered.

"Yeah, I've just got study hall," Paul said. "But if you're already busy . . ." Paul trailed off, glancing at Dawn uncertainly.

"Oh, Dawn can come too, if she's interested," Mr. Xenakis offered. Dawn would have said yes, but the look of absolute dismay on Paul's face stopped her.

"Sorry, I have to catch a bus," Dawn said, shrugging. The bell rang, giving Dawn the perfect opportunity to escape. She felt Paul watching her as she left, but Dawn ignored him, eager to escape that intense gray stare.

"Why are we cheerleaders again?" Dawn groaning. Practice had been especially brutal; Jade seemed intent on working the squad until they all dropped dead.

"Because it's fun?" May offered weakly. They were sitting in the lobby, waiting for May's mom to show up.

"I can't wait until I get my license," May muttered, pulling her knees to her chest. "I still don't know why your parents won't let you get yours."

Dawn sighed but didn't respond. She knew exactly why her parents refused to let her take her driver's test. It was a touchy subject, and one that she wasn't going to push.

"It's not that bad," Dawn said.

May snorted. "That's because it's not your mom who does all the driving." Dawn flinched and looked away. May immediately realized what she had said. "Oh, Dawn, I didn't mean it like that. I just . . . my mom's so awkward, and—"

"It's fine, May," Dawn said, standing up. "I forgot something in my locker. I'll be right back."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, you should wait for your mom. I'll be quick." Dawn turned and walked away swiftly, trying hard to disperse the lump of emotion in her throat. She made it to her locker before the first tears started sliding down her face. There had been a time when her parents were actively involved in her life, but it was long ago, Dawn could barely remember it.

"What's wrong now?"

And of course Paul was standing there, holding a large box and looking bored. Dawn wiped furiously at her face and swallowed hard.

"Nothing, I have allergies," she muttered, spinning the dial on her locker. The door clicked open and Dawn grabbed a random book. She slammed the locker shut, her eyes stinging.

"Allergies. In October." Paul didn't sound convinced.

"The pollen count was high today, alright?" Dawn snapped.

"Liar."

"Why do you even care? Just leave me alone and go back to your stupid robots." Dawn said nastily. Paul winced slightly, the first crack in his veneer that Dawn had seen so far. Then his face retreated back into a stony mask.

"Fine." Dawn watched him walk away, something like regret banging around in her chest.

"Dammit," she muttered, kicking a locker in frustration. Her phone buzzed, and she looked down to see a text from May.

_Where are you?_

Dawn sighed. _Coming._

The rest of the week passed in a dull blur. It rained every single day, and what little leaves had been left on the trees were dashed to the ground, leaving behind bare, spidery limbs. The icy weather didn't do anything to improve Dawn's moon. Cheerleading practice continued to be a nightly torture, and as they moved further into October, the teachers began piling more and more work on the juniors. By the time lunch rolled around on Friday, Dawn was ready to collapse.

"I can't take much more of this," May complained, dropping her bag with a heavy thud.

"If we have one more test, I'm gonna scream," Dawn replied, rubbing her temples and grimacing. The noise from the cafeteria didn't help her headache.

Marina dropped into the seat next to May, beaming brightly. "I have good news," she sang, her blue eyes bright.

May and Dawn both groaned.

"Marina, it's wonderful that Jimmy asked you out, but please, you've told us a million times," May said beseechingly.

Marina sniffed and said, "Just because Drew hasn't asked you to Fall Ball doesn't mean you get to be mean to me."

May blushed furiously. "That has absolutely nothing to do with it."

Dawn intervened. "Marina, what's your news?"

Marina grinned. "The game got canceled tonight. They're predicting thunderstorms."

"Yes!" Dawn cheered, while May did a happy dance.

"I know, right?" Marina said, stealing a rench fry from May's tray. "We don't have to deal with Jade for three whole days."

"And that's a reward in of itself," Dawn commented, snagging a fry from May as well.

"Hey! Vultures, get your own food," May exclaimed. Dawn rolled her eyes. May was very protective of her food.

Despite the canceled game, Dawn still somehow managed to get stuck after school. The librarian was in the process of reorganizing the library, and Dawn, taking pity on the woman, agreed to help. It was after seven by the time they finished.

"Thanks so much, Dawn," Ms. Laure gushed, hugging her. "I don't know what I would've done without you."

"No problem," Dawn said, fighting back a yawn. "Anything for the books, right?"

Ms. Laure's mint green eyes lit up, dazzling in her pale, heart shaped face. "Absolutely!" Like Mr. Xenakis, Ms. Laure was one of the younger teachers. In fact, people often mistook her for a student herself. She wore her blonde hair long and loose, letting it curl gently around the edges of her face.

"Have a good night," Dawn called, waving as Ms. Laure walked outside to her car. When she was out of sight, Dawn sighed wearily. She had to grab her things from her locker, and then make the hike to the nearest bus stop. In the cold. In a thunderstorm.

"I should probably learn to just say no," Dawn muttered, retrieving her coat and backpack. But then she wouldn't be Dawn. She'd just be another Jade. Or Paul. Well, maybe not Paul. He at least had offered her a ride home last week. Dawn felt slightly guilty as she thought of how she'd snapped at him the other day. The way she was these days, it was a wonder she had any friends left at all.

A sound down the science hallway stopped Dawn in her tracks. It sounded like music, but who would be here this late? Slowly, Dawn crept towards a door with light spilling out from under it. Peeking around the corner, she watched as a squat little robot on wheels spun and zipped across the floor. As ridiculous as it seemed, the robot looked like it was break dancing.

The club music didn't help.

"Whoo! Go Penelope!" A short girl cheered, her dirty blonde hair falling in front of her face. A tall boy with light brown hair glared at her.

"His name is _Princeton_," the boy snapped, his hands on his hips. The girl shook her head vigorously.

"Penelope."

"Princeton."

"Penelope."

"_Princeton_."

"Enough!" Paul stepped into view, stooping down to lift the robot off the floor. He was laughing slightly as he flicked a switch. "I thought we agreed on Sheldon?"

A third boy appeared next to him, his curly black hair bouncing slightly as he walked. His dark brown skin and eyes matched perfectly. "Yes, we did."

The girl and brown haired boy both sighed unhappily. "Fine," the girl huffed. "But I still like Penelope."

Dawn realized that she was smiling, and she felt lighter than she had all week. Just then, her shoe squeaked on the floor, and everyone immediately looked towards the noise. Dawn whipped out of sight, but it was too late.

"What are you doing here?" Paul asked brusquely, coming out into the hallway. He stared at her intensely, his gray eyes cold.

"I heard the music," Dawn said. "I didn't realize anyone else was still here this late."

"Cool, a girl," the tall brown haired boy commented as he followed Paul. Soon the entire club was staring at her, looks ranging from curiosity to intense dislike. Surprisingly, Paul wasn't the one looking at her with dislike. He didn't look happy, but his expression was nothing compared to the barely concealed rage in the girl's hazel eyes.

"I'm a girl, Eric," she snapped, and when the tall boy just rolled his eyes at her and stuck out his tongue, Dawn smiled in spite of herself.

"Oh my God, Nicole, will you just smoke a joint and chill?"

Dawn squeaked slightly as Paul and the darker boy turned to glare at Eric. Eric just grinned lazily back at them. "What?"

"You know what," the curly haired boy remarked. "She'll probably report you to the school." He jerked his head at Dawn.

"No I won't," Dawn said quickly. "I mean, he was just joking, right?"

Eric just shrugged and grinned wider.

"Eric," Paul growled.

"Alright, alright, I was kidding," Eric said, raising his hands in front of him. "Jeez, no one around here appreciates a good joke."

The girl, Nicole, sniffed. "If we're done here, I'm going to finish up." She turned on her heel and stalked back into the room.

"Eric, Luke, go help her," Paul sighed. The other two boys followed Nicole into the room, leaving Paul and Dawn alone in the hallway.

"Hi," Dawn said softly. Paul just looked at her and sighed again.

"Don't you ever go home?" he asked. "It's Friday; there's no game. Why are you still here?"

Dawn shrugged. "Maybe I like school."

"And maybe Barry and I are secretly dating," Paul said sarcastically.

"I could have gone my whole life without picturing that and died perfectly happy, you know," she said, laughing.

"What's wrong?" Paul smirked. "Jealous?"

"Oh, definitely," Dawn countered. "So jealous."

Paul made a face. "I'm going to change the subject now, before things get really weird."

"Too late."

"Ugh."

"I have a question."

"What?" Paul looked at her warily.

"Did you name your robot after Sheldon Cooper from _The Big Bang Theory_?"

Paul froze for a second. "You do not watch that show."

Dawn giggled. "Bazinga!"

Paul groaned. "I'm done. That just killed me."

"You don't have shower curtains with the periodic table on them, do you?" Dawn grinned.

"No. Absolutely not."

Luke stuck his head out into the hallway. "Hey, are you going to help us finish, or are you going to stay out here blabbing?"

Paul glared at him. "I'm coming, I'm coming." He glanced at Dawn and said, "See you later."

"Oh." For some reason, disappointment surged through Dawn, and she struggled to keep her face from showing it. "Okay, have fun." She turned and started walking away, feeling as if someone had let all the air out of the room.

"Hey, Dawn?"

Dawn turned. "Yeah?"

"You could stay and watch, if you wanted too." Paul shifted uncomfortable and added, "I mean, you obviously don't have a life, so . . ."

Dawn ignored the smirk. "Gee, thanks," she replied, realizing that he'd actually called her by her name.

In the room, which Dawn realized was an unused science lab, Eric was all too willing to explain how everything worked.

"Basically, we have to program the robot to get through an obstacle course," he explained, pointing out all the different hurdles on the practice table. "The harder the obstacle, the more points we get."

"Careful, Eric," Nicole said. "Obstacle has more than two syllables in it. It might be a little above her level."

"I have two syllables for you," Dawn muttered under her breath, causing Eric to laugh. Nicole just flushed, her straggly hair sliding in front of her face again.

"Um, anyway," Luke interjected, "it's tricky because we have to build all of the attachments from scratch."

"Yeah," Eric added. "I can't tell you how many times I've burned myself trying to solder something onto the damn thing." He held out his hands and, sure enough, Dawn saw burn scars all over his palms and finger tips.

"I didn't realize it was so dangerous," she said, smiling. Eric blushed, Luke laughed, and Nicole scowled. Paul just looked at her thoughtfully. "Can I see it run the course?"

They all looked at each other, suddenly uncomfortable.

"See, that's the thing," Eric said. "We haven't exactly gotten it to work."

"Yet," Luke said. "We'll fix it."

Nicole scoffed. "Yeah, right. The program itself is messed up. We'll be lucky to get it to finish one task."

"Positivity, guys!" Luke grinned at them. "If all else fails, we'll just program it to explode and send it at the Violet City team."

"I'm totally in support of that idea." Eric nodded, his long neck making him look ridiculously like a bobble head.

Paul cleared his throat. "No one's setting anything to explode."

"Buzzkill," Eric muttered. Dawn stifled a giggle.

"Hey, Paul, it's almost seven thirty," Luke said. Paul looked at his watch and sighed.

"Alright, let's pack up."

Dawn helped Eric pack the robot away in its case, being especially careful not to jostle any of the attachments. The last thing she needed was to break some delicate piece of equipment and have Paul murder her. They flicked off the lights and locked the door, dropping the keys off at the front desk on their way out.

"Mr. X is usually here," Eric explained, "but he had to leave early tonight."

"Probably off on a date with the algebra teacher," Luke muttered.

Eric smirked. "You're just mad because you have a thing for her yourself."

Dawn made a face. "Mrs. Logan?" she asked, unable to keep a note of revulsion out of her voice. Luke looked equally horrified.

"No! Ms. Carter, the sub! Ew, Mrs. Logan's like, fifty."

Paul caught Dawn's eye and smiled slightly, shaking his head.

A silver van pulled up, and Dawn noticed a bunch of little zombie family stickers on the back windshield.

"Later," Luke said. He and Eric ran for the van, lightning arcing across the sky.

"A bit later in the year for a thunderstorm," Paul muttered. As the van pulled away, Dawn could see Eric with his face presed again the window, waving frantically.

Paul chuckled. "Eric's a bit . . . hyper," he said dryly. "I swear his mother drank coffee by the gallon while she was pregnant."

Nicole laughed shrilly as a red sedan pulled up. She smiled at Paul and said, "See you on Monday." As Nicole got into the car, she shot one last glare at Dawn, her eyes narrow little slits. Dawn just shook her head.

"Why are you still here?" she asked, looking at Paul. "You drive, right?"

"Yeah, but I make sure they all have rides before I go."

"Aw, that's sweet," Dawn said. Paul just grimaced.

"Yeah, yeah. Your parents better get here soon, I'm tired."

Dawn froze. "Oh, you don't have to wait for me," she said, her mouth suddenly dry. "My mom's probably almost here."

Paul stared at her intently for a second. "Okay," he said finally. "See you on Monday."

Dawn waited until he was gone, and then she sighed in relief. Outside, the temperature had plummeted, and Dawn wondered if they end up getting snow instead of rain. Considering the nearest bus stop was a ten minute walk from the school and it was already almost dark, Dawn wasn't too pleased.

As she walked along the road, Dawn distracted herself from the cold by thinking about the club meeting. The atmosphere was so different from cheerleading practice. Other than Nicole, everyone seemed in such a good mood, even Paul.

The wind picked up and Dawn shivered, pulled her hood over her head. She heard a car behind her, and she moved farther away from the edge of the road, not wanting to accidentally get run over. When she heard it pull over and stop behind her, Dawn whirled, her heart pounding.

Every kidnapping story she'd ever read or seen on TV raced through her mind as she looked around for somewhere to hide. Unfortunately, this part of the road cut right through a field, with absolutely no cover. In retrospect, Dawn realized that walking to the bus stop like this was definitely classified as Decisions Stupid Girls Make in Horror Movies, the Sequel.

"What the _hell_ are you doing?" Oh, she recognized that voice. And that truck.

"Um, going home?" Dawn said. Paul slammed the driver's door and stalked over to her, looking quite livid.

"You live about twenty miles in the opposite direction, Dawn."

Dawn's shoulders slumped slightly. "Yeah, but the bus stop is this way."

Paul's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. "Wha—why didn't you just ask me for a ride?"

Dawn glared at the ground. "I don't like charity," she replied stiffly. Paul just groaned.

"You're absolutely ridiculous. Get in," he said, wrenching opening his door.

"I'm fine," Dawn said haughtily. "I'll take the bus."

"You're gonna get hit by a hit by a freakin car before you get that far, Dawn. Get _in_."

"I said I'm fine."

"You're full of shit. It's freezing and, look," Paul held out his hand. "It's starting to rain. And there's lightning."

"Oh, well," Dawn said, shrugging. She turned and started stalking off in the opposite direction.

"Get in the car or I'll tell every single person I know just how good at math you are."  
>Paul's voice was deadly serious.<p>

Dawn stopped walking, feeling slightly sick to her stomach. "Please don't," she said, turning to look at Paul imploringly.

"Get in the truck."

Dawn hesitated for one more second, and then she sighed in defeat. "Fine."

She walked around to the passenger side and got in, crossing her arms tightly as she stared out the window. Paul got in and started the truck, muttering under his breath and shaking his head.

"Can you explain something to me?" Paul asked. "Why are you so stubborn? Would it have killed your pride to ask me to give you a ride home?"

"I don't like being a burden," Dawn said stiffly.

Paul just sighed at that. "Fine. Next question; why do you care if people know if you're good at math?"

Dawn fiddled with the zipper on her coat. "I don't, really, it's just . . ."

"What?"

Dawn sighed. "I moved into this district in fourth grade. Before that, I was always the smartest kid in the class. And everyone knew it. The teachers always made _sure_ everyone knew it."

"And?"

"Jesus, you're relentless," Dawn snapped. "I got tired of always being 'that girl', okay? I had no friends at my old school; who wants to be friends with teacher's pet?"

"So you'd rather act dumb and have friends than be smart on your own?" Paul asked scornfully.

Dawn flinched. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"You care more about your reputation than—"

"That has nothing to do with it!" Dawn hissed. "Before Jenna died, it didn't matter, I was—" Dawn broke off, realizing what she'd said.

Paul was silent for a long moment. "Dawn, I . . ."

"It doesn't matter," Dawn mumbled. "I don't want to talk anymore."

They rest of the car ride was spent in silence. Dawn was slumped against the passenger's side door, her forehead pressed against the glass as she willed herself not to cry. She felt Paul looking at her every now and then, but he didn't say anything.

Finally, the truck pulled up in front of her house.

"Thanks for the ride," Dawn said, not looking at Paul as she got out. She walked up the path to the dark house, barely noticing that her parents weren't home again. Inside, she threw the deadbolt and let herself slide down until she was huddled on the floor.

And then, Dawn started sobbing.

**Yeah, I'm totally in tragic backstory mode right now. And Dawn won't be my only victim (hehehe). Anyway, if you like this, consider leaving me a review. Thanks!**


	4. Sheltered

**Yeah, so if you've read some of my other stuff, it should be very obvious that I love Mario Kart. My family plays it all the time, and due to the fact that I have no life, I am the reigning family champion. Anyway, here's chapter 4. I actually wasn't planning on having Paul's friends in this chapter, but they seemed to have snuck in there anyway **

As usual, Dawn woke up to a silent house. Her father had taken to working weekends lately, while God only knew where her mother was. Rain dashed against the window, and Dawn could see the bare tree branches shuddering violently in the wind.

She hated autumn.

Downstairs, Dawn opened the refrigerator to find that her mother had, once again, forgotten to go grocery shopping. And since Dawn wasn't the type of person who liked mustard and week-old potato skins for breakfast, she was screwed.

"Thanks a lot, Mom," she muttered. The woman worked at a bakery, but she couldn't take five minutes to grab a box of donuts on her way home. Frustrated, Dawn went into the living room and flopped down in front of the television. After flipping aimlessly through the channels for a while, Dawn got back up, feeling restless.

As she walked by the front window, Dawn noticed something strange. A black car was parked along the street a couple houses down. This itself wouldn't have been that out of the ordinary; after all, people got new cars all the time. But the house it was parked in front of was empty, the Turners having moved to Alabama five months earlier.

"No way," Dawn breathed, studying the truck. But it was too far away to make out the figure sitting in the driver's seat. There was no reason for it to be Paul. It couldn't be, could it?

Dawn chewed her bottom lip for a second, and then she made her decision. Stopping in the mudroom for her coast and boots, she slipped out the back door, cutting through backyards until she was peering at the truck from behind a shrub in the Turners' yard.

It was still hard to see through the drizzling rain, but Dawn could just make out a glint of purple hair, contrasting sharply with the black leather of the headrest.

Dawn smiled. _Got you. _

She crept slowly up to the passenger's side window. Grinning, she tapped on the glance, startling Paul.

"Can I help you?" Dawn asked, smirking. Paul blushed slightly and rolled down the windows.

"How did you . . ."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "I saw you from my window. Duh."

"Oh."

Since it was still raining, Dawn opened the door and got in. She looked at Paul and raised an eyebrow. "So, should I be concerned that you're parked outside by house like a stalker?"

Paul coughed. "No. And I'm not. A stalker, I mean."

"Oh, so there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for—"

"For sitting outside your house in my unmarked black truck? Actually, yes." Paul cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. "I was going to apologize."

Dawn frowned in confusion. "For what?"

"Last night."

Dawn's frowned deepened. "You're apologizing for giving me a ride home?"

"No," Paul said, sounding frustrated. "I was a—" and here he mumbled something unintelligible under his breath.

"A what?" Dawn asked innocently, fighting the urge to smile.

More mumbling.

"I'm sorry, I can't quite—"

"I was a jerk, alright?" Paul snapped. "And I'm . . . sorry." The last word seemed wrenched from him again his will. Paul looked like he was in pain, and Dawn realized that he wasn't used to apologizing to anyone.

"You know, when people say, 'Would it kill you to say sorry?', I don't think they meant to be serious," Dawn said, starting to laugh.

Paul exhaled loudly. "You are _infuriating_."

"I know," Dawn giggled. "Did that ease your conscience?"

"Yes, it did," Paul said stiffly. When Dawn kept chuckling to herself, he glared at her, slate gray eyes turned on full blast. "What's so funny?"

"It's just . . . I don't know. You're so _serious_," Dawn tried to explain, unsure exactly how to articulate what she was trying to say.

"Well, we all can't be ditzy airheads," Paul retorted.

Dawn scowled at him. "Do you always have to be so insulting?"

"Oh, I forgot," Paul said mockingly, "you're only a pretend airhead, right?"

"For someone who drove all the way over here to apologize, you're doing a pretty good job digging yourself right back into the same hole," Dawn countered.

Paul froze for a second, taking in her words. "I dislike your habit of being correct," he replied.

"Join the club," Dawn sighed. Paul just shook his head as he put the car in drive. He pulled down the street, stopping in front of Dawn's house. As she reached for the handle, she noticed Paul staring critically at the empty driveway and dark windows.

"Aren't your parents ever home?" he asked, frowning.

"They work a lot," Dawn said, shrugging.

"Don't tell me you're just going to sit on the couch and watch TV all day?" Paul said.

Dawn smiled wryly. "What's so wrong with that? There's a Disney movie marathon on ABC, you know."

Paul rolled his eyes. "I bet I can top that."

Dawn hesitated for a second. She looked at her dark, empty house, where she'd be alone for the rest of the day. And then she looked at Paul. Despite his thorny, standoffish personality, Dawn liked hanging out with him. Their verbal sparring matches were, as much as Dawn hated to admit it, fun.

"Okay."

She took her hand off the door handle as the truck pulled away from the curb. Soon they were flying down the highway, and Dawn had the ridiculous impulse to open the window and stick her head out like a dog. It was a while later that it occurred to her to actually ask where they were going.

"Eric's house," Paul replied brusquely.

"Why there?" Dawn asked curiously.

"Because his mom makes pepperoni rolls."

"Seriously? That's the only reason?" Dawn asked, raising an eyebrow.

Paul chuckled slightly. "Have you ever had his mom's pepperoni rolls?"

"Um, no," Dawn said.

"Then don't ask silly questions."

"Fine," Dawn said huffily, folding her arms tightly over her chest.

Paul sighed. "Luke has three older sisters who never leave us alone, and Nicole's mom has five other kids all under ten. Eric's house is the only place any of us can think straight.

Oh, great. Nicole was going to be there. Dawn resisted the urge to jump out of the car right there on the highway. Instead, she asked, "What about your house?"

Paul didn't answer, because at that moment, a dark blue car cut in front of them. Paul slammed on the brakes, tires shrieking as the truck decelerated rapidly. Dawn flew forward, the seat belt biting into her chest and shoulder. Paul jerked the wheel, and the truck swerved around the car, barely missing clipping the back end of it.

Once the car had disappeared in the rearview mirror, Paul pulled the car to the side of the road, breathing heavily. Dawn's eyes were clenched shut, tears streaming down her face. In her mind, the image of the blue car replaced with a white one. And instead of the shriek of rubber on asphalt, the sound of crunching metal and shattering class echoed around her.

"Dawn! Dawn!" Someone was shaking her roughly by the shoulder, and Dawn opened her eyes to see Paul staring at her anxiously. "Are you alright?"

Dawn swallowed hard. "Yeah, I'm fine," she rasped, but when she reached up to wipe at her eyes, she realized her hands were trembling. Paul looked at her for a long moment, and for a second, it seemed like he wanted to say something. Instead, he just sighed.

"I'd say you're a bad luck charm, but honestly, this happens to me all the time."

Dawn forced herself to smile weakly. "Maybe it's time to turn in your license?"

"And what, be stuck in the house all the time like you?" Paul quipped. Dawn glared at him, but she wasn't really angry. Paul started the car back up, but this time, Dawn didn't have the slightest urge to stick her head out the window. With her luck, it would get lopped off by a stop sign or something.

They pulled up in front of a cute little ranch house with a wraparound porch. Halloween decorations covered the side of the house, and a giant inflatable pumpkin grinned at Dawn from yard.

"Paul's mom loves holidays," Paul explained, getting out of the car. "Just wait until Christmas."

Dawn smiled sadly, thinking about the decorations her family used to put up. Fake cobwebs and bones and little tiny skeletons that shrieked as you walked by . . .

"You coming?" Dawn looked up to see that Paul was already halfway across the yard, staring back at her.

"Yeah, sorry." Dawn forced herself back to the present, and became determined to _stay_ there this time.

The inside of the house was as cute as the outside. Fake spiders dangled from the ceiling, while a row of fake pumpkins lined the staircase. The house was warm and smelled like . . . the only word Dawn could think of to aptly describe it was _home_.

"Hey Mrs. Lennox," Paul called. Dawn was surprised that he had just walked inside, but apparently he knew the family well.

"Paul!" A short woman in an orange apron bustled into the hallway, her curly brown hair held back by a black hair clip fashioned to look like a giant spider. Paul was right; she really _did_ get into the holiday spirit.

She practically tackled Paul in a hug, and then turned to Dawn. "And who's this?"

"I'm Dawn," she said, smiling. She held out a hand, but Eric's mother pulled her into a hug as well.

"They're already downstairs," Mrs. Lennox said, gesturing to a door. "Tell Eric that the food's almost done."

"Sure," Paul said, smiling. Dawn didn't think he'd ever looked so relaxed, not even at the club meeting. She followed him into the basement, bracing herself for a cement floor and exposed piping on the ceiling, like her house.

Instead, Dawn found a completely finished game room, with a flat screen television and a ping pong table. Luke and Nicole were sitting on the couch while Eric was sprawled on the floor, a half empty bowl of pretzels beside him.

They all glanced up and then did double takes as they realized Dawn was there. She blushed slightly and took a step back, wondering why she had ever thought this was a good idea. Nicole was glaring at her, her face flushed and her beady little eyes furious.

"What's she doing here?" Nicole demanded, turning to glare at Eric. Eric just shrugged.

"Dawn's a charity case," Paul said, shooting a smirk at Dawn. She just narrowed her eyes.

"Keep it up, stalker," she muttered, and Paul's expression immediately sobered.

"I mean, I invited her."

"Better," Dawn murmured, happy to have the upper hand for once.

Nicole started to say something nasty, but Eric cut her off. "That's cool. It'll be nice to crush someone new for a chance."

"Should I be concerned?" Dawn asked, feeling slightly nervous. Eric brandished a Wii controller at her.

"Most definitely, dear lady, for I destroy all those in my path!"

Paul groaned. "Who gave him coke?" he asked, looking pointedly at Luke, who shrugged.

"It's his house, what am I supposed to do?" 

"Take it from him by force," Paul said, sounding completely serious.

"Can we start please?" Nicole huffed. She was stretched out on the couch so that there was only room for one more person. She smiled winningly (or so she thought) at Paul.

Before Paul could move, Dawn went and sat down next to Eric, snagging the bowl of pretzels. She purposefully ignored Nicole; she had no intention of being snubbed by a scraggly haired robotics bitch.

Paul perched on the edge of the couch uncomfortably, Nicole's head a little too close for comfort to his lap. Luke tossed controllers to Dawn and Paul, saying, "I'm sitting this one out. Eric's beaten me three times already."

Eric snickered. "All shall fall before my wrath."

"Dude, chill," Luke said. "It's freaking Mario Kart, and you play Diddy Kong."

Dawn grinned. Excellent. Little did they know, she and May had spent almost the entire summer playing Mario Kart. It was the only game May's parents had bought for the Wii, and since May had to babysit Max, the three of them had become adept at the ins and outs of the treacherous courses.

The screen counted down, the buzzer sounded, and then they were off.

Twenty minutes later, Eric was in shock, staring at the number two next to Diddy Kong's name. Paul and Luke were grinning like they'd just won the lottery, while Nicole looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.

"That's not . . .wha . . . _how_?" Eric asked, staring at Dawn imploringly. She just grinned.

"Food's done!" Mrs. Lennox called down the stairs. His loss momentarily forgotten, Eric and Luke raced each other upstairs, while Nicole flounced after them, tossing a disgusted look at Dawn over her shoulder.

Paul chuckled. "That was priceless."

"I know!" Dawn giggled. "Did you see his _face_?"

"He looked like you just shot his puppy," Paul said, laughing. Dawn started, realizing that she'd never really heard him laugh before.

"Do you do this every weekend?" Dawn asked, starting up the stairs.

"Usually. Sometimes we work on robotics stuff though," Paul said, shrugging. "Why? Is your social life that nonexistent?"

Dawn turned back and stuck her tongue out at him. "You're mean."

"Duh."

Inside the kitchen, everyone was crowding around a table covered with food. For Dawn, who had woken up to an empty kitchen and a silent house, it was like paradise. Mrs. Lennox was hovering nearby, smiling happily as she watched her son and his friends devour everything in sight. Dawn felt a queer pain in her chest that she couldn't quite identify.

"Paul was telling me about your pepperoni rolls in the car," Dawn told Mrs. Lennox, trying to dislodge the strange feeling.

Mrs. Lennox laughed gaily and said, "It's a family recipe. I keep trying to teach it to Eric, but . . ."

"His dad won't let him cook anymore," Luke interjected. "He says they don't have any more insurance to cover all the fires."

"That is so not true," Eric protested indignantly. "There was one fire. One! And the fire department put it out easily enough."

Dawn laughed and moved to get some food. It was easy to get along with Eric, who was so funny that Dawn thought her sides might actually split, and Luke, who was so easygoing. Nicole was pretty poisonous, sure, but Dawn managed to avoid her well enough. And Paul, well . . . Dawn smiled to herself. He definitely made things interesting.

That night when he drove her home, Paul was quiet.

"What's wrong?" Dawn asked, looking at him.

"Nothing," Paul said, chuckling. "It's just . . . it's so weird."

Dawn frowned. "What is?"

"Hanging out with you."

Dawn looked hurt. "Well, fine then," she muttered, staring out the window moodily.

"I didn't mean it like that. I just never really thought we'd be . . ."

"Friends?"

"Are we friends?"

"I don't know," Dawn said truthfully. "Although I'm afraid if I say yes, Nicole might jump out and stab me."

Paul laughed. "Yeah, sorry about that. She's usually not quite so . . ."

"Bitchy?"

"Yeah. I don't know what's up with her."

Dawn looked at him sharply. "Seriously?"

"What?"

Dawn snorted. "You know," she said, "for someone who's so smart, you can be pretty dense."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Paul demanded. Dawn just shook her head and smiled.

"You'll figure it out," she replied. Dawn couldn't help but add, "_Eventually_."

Paul glared at her as he pulled up in front of her house. "Fine, then. See if I come to get you next weekend."

"You know you will," Dawn sang as she got out of the car.

Paul rolled down and the window and called after her, "And why's that?"

"Because you like seeing Eric crushed just as much as I do," Dawn replied, grinning. She opened the door and waved as Paul drove away, shaking his head. Dawn went to bed that night with a warm feeling in her chest, and she felt sheltered from the dank, chilly autumn that was all around her.

**Aw, fluffy cuteness. But don't think I've forgotten that tragic backstory comment from last chapter. Laughter wouldn't mean much if there wasn't sorrow to temper it with. Anyway, thanks for reading and please, review! Thanks! **


	5. Head Over Heels

**I love it when I write something and then realize that it has a dual meaning. Especially because most of the time I don't even realize I'm doing it. Anyway, here's chapter 5!**

Dawn winced as someone stepped on her toes. The hallways were clogged with people clamoring to escape from prison school for the day. Up ahead, Dawn spotted a shock of blonde hair making its way toward her. The crowd parted easily in front of Barry, who strolled on through untouched.

"How's my girl doing?" Barry asked, grinning at her.

"I'm not 'your' girl, Barry," Dawn said, sighing. He didn't seem to hear her. As Dawn kept walking, Barry fell in line next to her, trying to sling an arm around her shoulders. Dawn looked at his arm distastefully for a second before shrugging the offending limb off under the pretend of pulling her phone out.

"Hey, we need to talk about Fall Ball," Barry said. Dawn felt her stomach plummet slightly.

"What do you mean?" she asked carefully, pretending to check her texts.

"We have to coordinator flowers and stuff. Plus, Justin's having a little after party, you know, which we're invited to."

"_We_ are?" Dawn asked.

"Duh. You're my date," Barry said, looking at her lasciviously. Dawn suppressed a shudder.

"I don't remember you _asking_ me," Dawn said sharply. "And I certainly don't remember saying yes."

Barry rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on Dawn. Who else are we going to go with?"

Deep breaths, Dawn. Deep breaths. "Actually, Barry, I'm not going," Dawn heard herself say.

"What?" Barry's grin finally slid off his face. "Why not?"

"My parents won't let me go," Dawn lied. "I'm grounded."

"For what?" Barry asked indignantly.

"Our phone bill was too high last month."

Barry sighed unhappily. "Can't you change their minds? Promise to do extra chores or something?"

Dawn shook her head and tried to look miserable. "No, they're really mad this time."

"Well, that blows," Barry said glumly.

Just then, Dawn's phone lit up. She tried to hide the screen, but Barry had already seen Paul's name.

"Why are you texting him?" Barry asked, anger clouding his face. Mental note: change Paul's name in her phone to something more generic. Like Bob.

Dawn shrugged. "Am I not allowed to text people?" she asked, giving Barry a bored look.

His eyes narrowed, but before he could say anything else, they were ambushed by a group of Barry's teammates, all talking loudly. Dawn used the confusion to escape, darting down the art hallway and taking a shortcut through the auditorium to the science wing. Finally alone, she stopped to catch her breath, and opened the text from Paul.

_Hey, if you get a chance, stop by the lab. I'll give you a ride home._

Dawn smiled in spite of herself. She felt oddly elated, although for the life of her, Dawn couldn't figure out why. She just chalked it up to not having to take the bus him.

"Hello," Dawn said cheerily as she walked into the room, launching herself onto a lab stool. She laughed as the seat spun around.

"Somebody's in a good mood," Paul said snarkily. Dawn stuck her tongue out at him.

"Well, one of us has to be."

Paul just rolled his eyes. "You got here quick."

Dawn snorted. "That had nothing to do with you."

"Burn!" Eric yelled, popping up from behind a counter. Dawn yelped and nearly toppled backwards off her stool.

"Lack of coordination," Paul muttered, which earned him a glare.

"What are you doing?" Dawn snapped at Eric, who just grinned.

"Finishing putting away some stuff," he said, grabbing his bag. "I'll leave you two kids alone now," Eric added, waggling his eyebrows as he sauntered out the door.

Paul glowered after him. "Idiot."

"Aw, but he's so adorable," Dawn cooed, covering her own embarrassment. "Like a little puppy."

Paul snorted. "Then maybe I'll call Cruella de Vil."

"Wow, you really are dark today," Dawn commented.

"I'm always like this."

"Not really. What happened? Did you get a 99.9 on a test?" Dawn asked teasingly.

Paul smiled wryly. "Why? Want to see what one looks like?"

Dawn narrowed her eyes at him. "Take it back."

"Make me."

For a second, Dawn thought they were at an impasse. But then she got an idea.

"Fine," she said, shrugging. "See you later." Dawn started walking out the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" Paul asked.

"Leaving. Obviously whatever you wanted to talk to me about will be too complex for me to understand," Dawn said, grinning slyly.

Paul sighed loudly. "Alright, I take it back. Happy?"

"Yes." Dawn smiled, satisfied. Paul grumbled to himself as he grabbed his bag.

"After you, princess," he said, smirking at her.

Dawn felt her eye twitch. "Don't call me that," she hissed, walking out the door.

"Whatever."

"Hmph."

"Princess."

"Paul!"

In the truck, Dawn tossed her things into the back and sighed. "So what was so important that I had to miss my bus?"

"Meteors," Paul said simply as he put the truck into gear.

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "Um, what?"

"Meteors, Dawn. You know, shooting stars?"

"Yes, I know what a meteor is," Dawn said impatiently.

"The Orionid meteor shower is this weekend," Paul explained. "It's supposed to peak on Saturday night."

"That's cool," Dawn said, sounding interested.

"Yeah."

She waited for him to say something else, but Paul remained silent. "And?"

"If you want," Paul said carefully, "I know a good spot to watch from. Since the weather's supposed to be clear."

Dawn froze for a second. "Really?" she asked doubtfully. Dawn figured he would've asked Nicole instead.

Paul must have heard the hesitation in her voice, because his face hardened slightly. "If you don't want to, it's fine. I just thought you might be interested," he said curtly.

"No! I mean, that sounds fun," Dawn said. "Saturday night?"

"Yeah," Paul said gruffly.

Dawn smiled teasingly. "I don't have a ride, though."

Paul chuckled. "What else is new?"

"Oh my God, you're going on a nerd date!" May squealed over the phone.

Dawn winced, holding her cell away from her ear. "It's not a _date_," she said.

May giggled. "Oh, that's so romantic," she sighed. "Just the two of you, alone, sitting on a blanket as shooting stars fly by over head . . ."

"What have you been _smoking_?" Dawn asked, laughing in spite of herself. "We're just friends."

"For now," May teased, and Dawn could almost hear her eyebrows wiggling through the phone.

"Shut up," Dawn said, although she caught herself blushing slightly.

"I wish Drew would do something like that," May grumbled. "All he ever wants to do is work on stupid projects."

Dawn sighed. "We've been over this, May. He wants you to be your partner in every class. If that's not—"

"Don't say love!" May screeched.

"I wasn't going to," Dawn said calmly. "I was just going to say it's a sign he likes you. You're the one who seems to have love on the brain."

May groaned. "This is not even fair."

"All's fair in love and war," Dawn sang.

"I hate you."

"Love you, too."

"Anyway," May grumbled, changing the subject, "what color is your dress for Fall Ball?"

"Oh, um, well, about that . . ."

"What?" May asked sharply.

"I'm not actually . . . going to Fall Ball." Dawn winced, waiting for the explosion.

"Why not?" May shrieked.

Dawn recounted her exchange with Barry in the hallway. "And it was easier for me to say I wasn't going than to . . ."

"Tell him off for being an arrogant tool," May finished. She sighed. "This day could not get any worse. I'm going to be all alone, Dawn. Marina's going to be with Jimmy the entire time, and

Drew will probably be dancing with some other girl, and then—"

"May," Dawn said firmly, "Drew will ask you, okay? Everything will be fine."

"Yeah, right."

"He will."

"I hope so," May said softly, and Dawn's heart went out to her friend.

All day Saturday, Dawn was restless. She tried vainly to watch TV, read a book, do her homework, and even make herself dinner. All were miserable failures, although dinner was a fiasco of spectacular standards (Dawn didn't think that mac n' cheese was supposed to be quite so _black_. Or crunchy).

By the time eleven o'clock rolled around, Dawn felt like she was about to explode from all the pent up nervous energy. As she got into the truck, Paul wrinkled his nose, sniffed several times, and then looked at her pointedly.

Dawn sighed. "Don't ask."

Paul shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder about you, Dawn . . ."

"I hope a meteor falls on your head," Dawn muttered.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing," she said, smiling brightly. "Where are we off to?"

Paul chuckled darkly. "Oh, you'll see."

Dawn swallowed. "I'm not sure if I like the sound of that."

"Hehehe."

"Paul!"

"Joking, joking," Paul said hastily. They drove in comfortable silence for a while. Out of curiosity, Dawn reached forward and turned on the radio, just to see what Paul listened to. Immediately, Taylor Swift was blasting through the speakers.

"Hey!"

"Aww, I didn't know you were a Swiftie, Paul," Dawn teased.

Paul glowered at her and jabbed at the dial, turning off the music. "I'm _not_. That station plays anything." 

"Riiiight," Dawn said. "It's _okay_, Paul. No one's going to judge you."

"Math prodigy," Paul coughed. Dawn glowered at him. "Aw, I'm sorry, does the truth hurt?" 

"Like a bitch," Dawn muttered.

They drove in silence for a while, and the comforting hum of the car lulled Dawn to sleep.

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," Paul said sarcastically, shaking her by the shoulder.

"Huh?" Dawn yawned and stretched, wincing as her shoulders cracked loudly.

Paul winced. "That was a terrible sound."

"It didn't exactly feel good either," Dawn replied. "Where are we?"

"Below the hill near the cemetery," Paul said, as if this was a perfectly reasonable response.

"The _cemetery_?" Dawn felt a wave of cold wash over her.

"What's wrong? You're not afraid of ghosts, are you?" Dawn swallowed hard by didn't respond. Paul sighed. "Look, if you're too scared—"

"I'm not scared," Dawn snapped, opening the door. "Let's go."

Paul grabbed a blanket out of the back and tossed it to Dawn. "Here, carry this."

Dawn raised an eyebrow at him, but realized he couldn't see her in the dark. _May can never know_, Dawn thought as they tramped up the hill. To their right, the cemetery spread out, gravestones glinting softly in the dim moonlight. To their left, there was nothing by open farmland, stretching out to the horizon. As they moved higher, the moonlight became brighter, until Dawn could make out Paul's face clearly.

"This really is a good spot, for all that it's next to a graveyard," Dawn commented.

"Most people avoid it because they're too creeped out," Paul said, shrugging. "I like it, though. It's really quiet."

"Yeah, well, the dead aren't usually a rowdy bunch," Dawn said dryly.

"I could leave you here," Paul threatened.

"I have a phone."

"No reception."

"Uh oh."

"What?" Paul asked, glancing at her.

"Haven't you ever watched a horror movie? This is how they all start. They'll probably find our mutilated bodies strung up over the mausoleum roof tomorrow."

Dawn could practically feel Paul roll his eyes. "I think you watch too much television."

"And I think you don't watch enough," Dawn countered.

Paul stopped and turned to her. "Do you want to go back?"

Dawn paused for a second. "I didn't say that."

"Well, then, stop complaining."

They finally got to the top of the hill. Dawn collapsed onto the grass, breathing heavily, while Paul just chuckled.

"You know, for a cheerleader, you're pretty out of shape."

"You know, for a geek, you're pretty . . . _in_ shape," Dawn huffed.

"There's nothing that says I can't stay fit," Paul said.

Dawn just rolled her eyes and stood up. "Here, help me spread this out. I don't want to sit on dead people grass."

"Just a question," Paul said after they smoothed the blanket out. "Did your mother drop you on your head when you were a baby?"

"No, but she accidentally stuck me in a ceiling fan once," Dawn said thoughtfully, sitting down.

Paul blinked slowly, unsure if she was being serious or not. "What?"

"You know how people do that thing with babies?" Dawn said. "When they lift them into the air and go 'whoopie baby'?"

"I don't think I like where this is going," Paul muttered. Dawn grinned.

"Yeah, my dad wasn't too happy apparently . . ."

Paul smirked. "It explains a lot, though."

Dawn glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?" 

"You know _exactly _what it means," Paul replied, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"There are no witnesses out here," Dawn pointed out. "And actually, the placement of that graveyard's very convenient."

"Oh please," Paul scoffed. "You weigh, what, 100 pounds soaking wet? I get that I'm not a big tough football player, but I think I can take you."

Dawn sniffed. "Thank you for making fun of my weight. Now I'm going to get an eating disorder."

"You already have an eating disorder," Paul pointed out. "I thought you and Eric were going to get into a fight over those damn pepperoni rolls last weekend."

Dawn giggled. "I can't help it. I like food!"

"That is the understatement of the century."

"Actually," Dawn said, holding up a finger, "I'm not really that bad. You should see May. She once threatened to cut Marina's fingers off if she stole another french fry."

"Another reason why cheerleaders should be separated from the general population," Paul said.

Dawn was about to reply, but something caught her attention. "Oooh, look!"

The sky had suddenly come alive with little streaks of light, and for a while, both Dawn and Paul were mesmerized by the shooting stars.

"It's so pretty," Dawn said dreamily. She realized that Paul was staring, not at the sky, but at her. "What?"

He looked away. "Nothing. You're . . . very easily amused." But Dawn had the feeling that wasn't what he was going to say.

"Look, there's Andromeda," Dawn said, pointing out the constellation. "I love that one."

Paul nodded. "It's one of the original constellations listed by Ptolemy in the 2nd century."

Dawn just looked at him, bemused. "Yeah, I guess. But don't you know the story?"

Paul looked puzzled. "Should I?"

"Oh, come on!" Dawn exclaimed. "Andromeda and Perseus? The sea monster Cetus?"

Paul just shook his head. "I don't . . ." 

"You know, for someone so smart—"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm an idiot," Paul finished for her. "Do you realize how often we say that?"

"Say what?"

"That line. 'You know, for someone so . . .' We say it a lot." Paul chuckled, reclining back onto his forearms.

"Huh," Dawn said.

"Anyway, what about this sea monster?"

Dawn didn't know how long they sat there like that, just talking with stars shooting by overhead. She told him the myth of Andromeda, and then Cassiopeia and Phoenix and Pegasus . . . It really was a spectacular night for stargazing.

"Didn't you ever study Greek mythology?" Dawn asked.

"Not really," Paul replied. "I was always more interested in math and science. You know, real stuff."

"But doesn't that get boring?" Dawn asked. "I mean, it's interesting, but there's not really any . . . scope for imagination in it."

Paul laughed, sounding somewhat bitter. "I'm not really an 'imaginative' guy, in case you haven't noticed."

"Well, I'm not really an imaginative guy either," Dawn joked. Paul laughed, the sound echoing around them.

"That was really loud," Dawn giggled. "You're going to wake the neighbors," she said, motioning towards the graveyard.

"Right," Paul said sarcastically. "Been watching _The Walking Dead_ lately?"

Dawn blushed. "Maybe."

They watched the meteor shower for a little longer, until it got too cold to sit there comfortably.

"It's getting late," Dawn said regretfully.

"Yeah, we'd better go," Paul said, gathering up the blanket. "We wouldn't want your parents to miss you," he added.

Dawn recoiled like she'd been slapped. Paul immediately realized what he'd said.

"Wait, I didn't mean it like that—Dawn!" But she'd already turned on her heel and started down the hill. She held her head up proudly, refusing to cry, and thought that if she could just make it into the truck, she'd spend the rest of the ride home in icy silence. That would show him.

"Dawn, wait," Paul said, grabbing her arm. Dawn tried to jerk away, but lost her balance on the wet grass. She yelped as her feet slid out from under her, and then she was tumbling head over heels down the hill, dragging Paul along with her.

When they finally stopped, all Dawn could do was lie there and groan.

"Are you okay?" Paul asked groggily. Dawn realized that he was on top of her, and their faces were incredibly close.

"Get off," she said, pushing him away. Paul sat up immediately, moving away from her. Neither of them said anything for a second.

"Is it physically impossible for you to have a good time," Dawn finally asked, "or do you act like a jerk on purpose?"

Paul sighed unhappily. "Look, I'm sorry—"

"Answer my question," Dawn demanded.

"I have a habit of sticking my foot in my mouth," Paul mumbled, standing up and helping Dawn to her feet.

"I'd say," she grumbled, but she wasn't really mad. Dawn sighed. "It doesn't really matter."

"Liar."

"Every day."

"Come on, I'm freezing," Paul said.

"I did have fun," Dawn said as the truck idled outside her house.

Paul didn't say anything.

"Paul?"

"What?"

"Were you listening?"

"Oh, sorry. What'd you say?"

Dawn rolled her eyes. "I said I had fun, despite falling headfirst down that hill."

Paul chuckled. "Yeah, I think you should go see a neurologist. You have major balance issues."

"You're not too light on your feet there either, pal," Dawn retorted.

"You pulled me down with you!"

"Only because you had your hand on my arm."

Paul narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm going home now."

"Aww, does the truth hurt?" Dawn teased.

"Like a bitch."

They both laughed, the sound filling up the darkness.

**Hehehe. Oh, Paul. Anyway, if you like this, please leave me a review. And, since it is now after midnight, Happy Halloween everyone! **


	6. Shades of Gray

**Update, finally. Honestly, I've been finding it really hard to write lately. I think I'm having writer's block or something. Not so much with this story, thankfully, but Living is the Hardest Thing You'll Ever Do is definitely suffering. Sigh. I feel helpless, but what can I do? Hopefully I'll find some inspiration soon, and get back on track. Anyway, I'll stop whining and let you start reading. **

For the rest of October, Paul gave Dawn a ride home. She wasn't sure exactly when it became an everyday thing, but she wasn't going to complain. Anything was better than the bus, and although Dawn would never say it out loud, her conversations with Paul were the highlight of her day. All of the things Dawn felt like she couldn't say to May or Marina, she could tell to Paul. He got jokes that no one else did, and he taught her a couple of new snarky comebacks that even Dawn didn't know.

Of course, Barry wasn't too pleased with this development. Although he didn't try to verbally dissuade Dawn from her friendship with Paul anymore, he made his feelings clear in other ways. One afternoon, Paul found all four of his tires slashed. Another time, someone superglued his locker door shut.

"You have to say something," Dawn argued the afternoon after the locker incident. "He can't just get to do things like that."

Paul sighed as they got in the car. "What am I supposed to do, Dawn? Accuse him without any proof?"

"I'll back you up."

"With what evidence? What are you going to say?" Dawn opened her mouth, but she didn't have an answer. "Exactly. It doesn't matter what you know, Dawn. It's what you can prove." Paul shrugged as they pulled out of the parking lot. In the passenger's seat, Dawn exhaled unhappily.

"You could be right," Dawn grumbled.

"I _am_ right," Paul said pointedly. Dawn just stuck her tongue out at him. "Oh, real mature."

:Maturity's very overrated," Dawn said. "I mean, seriously. More responsibility, less fun, more work, less free time . . ."

"Freedom," Paul pointed out. "No one telling you what to do. You're in control of your own life, instead of being at the mercy of the world."

"We're always at the mercy of the world, Paul."

"Fine. At the mercy of others, then."

"I don't know," Dawn said doubtfully. "I don't think it's so black and white."

"It's not," Paul sighed. "Everything's a shade of gray."

Dawn giggled. "Fifty shades of gray?" she asked teasingly.

"Shut up," Paul said.

"I didn't know you read _those_ kinds of novels."

"I'm warning you, Dawn," Paul growled.

" 'Oh, Anastasia, please, just like that,' " Dawn whispered seductively, pretending to read an imaginary book aloud. Paul's face turned bright red, and Dawn laughed. "Aw, did I embarrass you?"

Paul pulled over to the side of the road. "Out."

"Oh, come on," Dawn wheedled. "I was joking."

"That's great. Think about that as you walk the rest of the way home."

"It's twenty miles from here!" Dawn exclaimed. She looked imploringly at Paul with large, limpid blue eyes. Paul just stared back at her, unaffected.

"Puppy dog eyes don't work on me," he said calmly. "In fact, I don't really like dogs." Paul gestured to the door again.

"Seriously? What if I get kidnapped?" Dawn asked.

"You'll be fine," Paul said. "Just start talking. They'll kick you out, too."

Dawn glared at him. "Very funny."

Paul shook his head as he put the car back into gear. "Eric thinks I'm hilarious."

Dawn snorted. "Eric thinks the word 'pudding' is hilarious."

"True," Paul sighed, pulling back onto the road. Dawn propped her elbow up against the door and rested her chin on hand, watching the scenery as it flitted past. Paul watched her as she became lost in her thoughts, her eyes fixed on nothing and everything at the same time. When he pulled up in front of her house, Dawn didn't even notice.

Now, a nice friend would have gently said her name and brought her back to reality. Paul grinned fiendishly and laid on his horn, the loud wail filling up the truck's cab. Dawn jerked violently in her seat, her head whipping around frantically as she tried to find the source of the noise. Her eyes landed on Paul as he took his hand off the horn.

"Was that really necessary?" she asked icily.

"Yes. Yes, it was." Paul grinned at her roguishly, and Dawn felt her stomach flop slightly.

"I'll remember this," Dawn warned as she got out of the car. She was halfway up the path before she stopped and turned around. Paul rolled down his window as she walked back to the truck.

"What now?"

"I just wanted to thank you."

"For what?"

"For giving me the perfect idea for a Christmas present for you."

Paul looked at her warily. "Ear muffs?"

"No," Dawn said, giggling. "I'm getting you a copy of _Fifty Shades Darker_."

"Dawn!" Paul roared, but Dawn had dashed away. She flung open the front door and slammed it behind her, waving cheekily out the window at Paul. He glowered at her for a few seconds before pulling away, and Dawn could see him muttering to himself as he drove off.

* * *

><p>October faded into November, and the last of the leaves fell, coating the ground in a layer of death. At least, that was how Dawn saw it. She stared out the windows gloomily, watching as rain feel in heavy sheets for days on end.<p>

"All I want to do is have a picnic," Dawn complained one night over the phone, "and all the world wants to do is rain."

"Are you surprised?" Paul asked unsympathetically. "It's Murphy's Law."

"What's that?" Dawn said. She was lying flat on her back on the floor, staring up at the ceiling fan as it spun in endlessly, moving so fast but getting nowhere. She could relate to the fan.

"Murphy's Law says that if something can go wrong, it will," Paul explained.

"That's depressing," Dawn commented.

"Depressingly true."

"Seriously."

"Hey, do you want to go do something?" Paul asked.

"If I had the energy to get up, I'd say yes," Dawn replied, watching as the blades on the fan went round and round.

"Are you just lying on the floor again?" Paul asked, sighing.

"Maybe."

"That's just sad."

"No it's not," Dawn said defensively. "My ceiling fan is very interesting."

"Uh huh. Almost as fascinating as the sound the heating vents make, right?"

"Shut up."

"Nope."

"Ugh."

"Wait, hold on a sec," Paul said. "Someone else is calling me."

"Okay."

Dawn lifted her legs into the air and started smacking her heels together, pretending that she was Dorothy from _The Wizard of Oz_. "There's no place like home, there's no place like home," she said, giggling slightly as she pictured herself in ruby red slippers.

"Dawn?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"What were you just doing?"

Dawn felt her face burn. "Uh . . . nothing."

Paul paused for a second. "Okay . . . Dorothy."

"Shut up," Dawn squealed, sitting up. "I got bored!"

"I was on the other line for all of thirty seconds," Paul said exasperatedly.

"I get bored easily," Dawn replied.

"I've noticed."

"Who was on the other call?" Dawn asked. "Eric?"

"I wish," Paul muttered. "It was Nicole." The week before, Eric had "accidentally" told Paul about Nicole's crush on him, and ever since then, Paul had been painfully awkward around her. Dawn, of course, thought the whole thing was hilarious and tormented Paul about it whenever she could.

"Ooooh, Nicole," Dawn teased. "What did she want? Other than the obvious."

"I know where you live," Paul threatened.

"Oh, I'm so scared," Dawn said sarcastically. "What're you going to do, send Sheldon the Robot over here to kill me?"

"Possibly," Paul said, and Dawn imagined his chin jutting out defiantly, daring her to question.

"I don't believe you." Dawn always dared to question him.

"I'm getting off now."

Before Dawn could say anything else, Paul hung up the phone. For a second, Dawn just laid there, an odd feeling creeping into her chest.

"Well, fine then," she muttered, standing up. Dawn went downstairs and started banging things around in the kitchen. Glancing at the clock, she was stunned to see that it was already almost eight thirty. Checking her phone, Dawn realized that she and Paul had been talking for more than an hour and half.

"Holy shit," Dawn muttered. That odd feeling was coming back, making her chest feel very tight. Dawn convinced herself that she was just hungry. She hadn't eaten dinner yet, and the last she could remember eating was a banana around two. She was probably just hungry. That was it.

Dawn opened the cabinets hesitantly, praying that her mother had gone to the store. She was rewarded with a box of angel hair pasta and two jars of alfredo sauce.

"Score," Dawn said. Fifteen minutes later the pasta was boiling on the stove, the sauce was heating up, and Dawn had managed to track down a loaf of garlic bread in the freezer. It was definitely one of her better dinners.

A knock on the front door startled her. Dawn peered around the corner anxiously, staring at the door. Grabbing a butcher knife from the counter, Dawn crept down the hall slowly, listening. She pulled back the curtain hesitantly and peeked through the window, wishing she hadn't just watched _The Purge_ the night before.

The porch was empty. Real fear began to bubble in Dawn's stomach, and she speed dialed 9-1-1, ready to hit the call button at the first sign of danger. She was just about to go barricade herself in her room when something on the ground outside the door caught her eye.

It was a robot, poised with a little plastic sword in its claw.

Dawn opened the door and yelled, "Paul, I'm going to kill you!"

Paul stepped out of the bushes next to the front porch. He was chuckling and looked extremely pleased with himself. "The look on your face right now is totally worth it."

Dawn growled. "You almost gave me a freaking heart attack!"

"Oh, stop being dramatic," Paul said, laughing. He noticed the butcher knife and his eyes went wide. "Well, that escalated quickly."

"Shut up," Dawn said. "I thought I was about to be murdered by the spawn of Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees."

"This is a lesson in not watching too many horror movies," Paul pointed out as he picked the robot up.

"Just because you're too scared to watch them doesn't mean the rest of us can't," Dawn countered.

Paul looked offended. "Who said I was scared?"

"I did," Dawn replied, smirking. "And it's totally okay to be afraid of horror movies. I used to be. When I was _seven_."

"I am not afraid of them," Paul said, crossing his arms. "I just think they're stupid."

All of sudden, Dawn got an idea. "Prove it," she challenged.

"What?"

"Prove that you're not afraid of horror movies," Dawn said. "Watch one with me."

"No way," Paul scoffed. "If I wanted to waste brain cells, I'd call Eric."

"It's okay to be afraid," Dawn said soothingly. "But you'll never conquer your fears if you don't face them.

"I'm not afraid," Paul said stubbornly.

"Whatever, Paul," Dawn said, sighing dramatically. "Anyway, I'm going back inside now. I have food on the stove. Call me when you're ready to deal with your phobias."

Dawn went back inside, where she waited, just out of sight, around a corner.

"Dammit," Paul muttered, following her inside.

* * *

><p>Two and a half hours later, the end credits for <em>A Nightmare on Elm Street <em>were rolling. Paul was sitting stony faced on the floor, staring at the screen. Dawn was stretched out on the couch, trying to control her giggles as she watched Paul's expression reflected on the dark TV screen.

Sheldon the Robot was occupying a place of honor on the recliner, his plastic sword held high as he prepared to challenge Freddy Krueger.

"That was absolutely awful," Paul said.

"Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad," Dawn said, grinning.

"Johnny Depp got turned into a geyser of blood, Dawn. A _geyser_."

Dawn yawned pointedly. "I thought it was actually kind of boring."

Paul twisted around and glared at her. "You have serious issues."

"Me?" Dawn asked innocently, batting her eyelashes.

"I think this whole cute little cheerleader act is just a ploy," Paul said, narrowing his eyes. "I think you're just waiting for everyone to let their guards down."

"So I can, what?" Dawn asked mockingly. "Commit murder in between class periods?"

"Absolutely," Paul said seriously.

"Fine, then. You will be my first victim," Dawn said, crossing her arms.

"No, I'll be your second," Paul pointed out. "Barry will be your first."

"True, true," Dawn sighed. She glanced at Paul sideways. "How about those knives, though?"

"I'm outta here," Paul said, standing up. "Before you get me dragged to hell or something."

"Oooh, there's a movie called _Drag Me to Hell_," Dawn said, jumping to her feet. She bounced up and down excitedly. "I've been meaning to watch that." She looked at Paul and grinned. "Hey, Paul . . ."

"Absolutely not," Paul said, pulling on his jacket. He started walking to the front door, but Dawn didn't give up easily.

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"_No_."

"Ugly please?"

Paul blinked. "What?" Dawn opened her mouth to reply, but Paul just held up a hand. "You know what? I don't even want to know."

"Fine," Dawn huffed. "I hope Freddy Krueger gets you," she added.

"Good night, Dawn," Paul said, chuckling as he went out the door.

"Hmph."

Dawn watched Paul drive away, then turned and ran up the stairs, locking herself in her bedroom. It was one thing to joke about Freddy Krueger when there was someone else in the house, but when Dawn was alone, she wasn't taking any chances.

**See, Dawn would survive a horror movie. I just took one of those quizzes, "How Long Would You Survive in a Horror Movie", and it told me that I'd make it through the whole movie and **_**then**_** die, right before the end. Which is just my luck, but whatever. Anyway, lessons learned from this chapter. Apparently, Paul has a sense of humor (shocker, I know), and Dawn has a real penchant for horror movie. Honestly, I'm not sure which one is weirder. I'll you guys decides. Review, review, review, and thanks again for all the support! Happy . . . I don't know, what is today? Election day? Let's go with that. Happy election day!**


	7. Damage Control

**Yeah, so just to clarify, Barry isn't an OC. I know Left-to-die pointed out that he's very OOC, but that's just because I needed a bad guy, and I didn't want to make one up entirely. Anyway, I'm about to ramp up the drama, so brace yourselves. Plus, three updates in one day! It's a new record!**

On Monday, Dawn doodled idly on the edge of her notebook, barely paying attention as Mr. Larkin tried to bore the class to death. Outside, ice pelted the windows, the soft tapping lulling her and the rest of the class into a stupor. Dawn glanced up as the lights flickered. Once, twice, and then the room was plunged into darkness. A girl screamed from somewhere behind her, and the class erupted into giggles.

"Calm down," Mr. Larkin droned. "The lights will come back on in a second. In the meantime, we'll continue our discussion on British taxation laws." The class groaned. It was hard enough trying to pay attention while the lights were on; in the dark, it took all one's strength just to remain upright.

Dawn sighed, waiting for the lights to come back on so she could continue her doodling. Next to her, May was staring blankly at the board, her mind no doubt on Drew. Dawn suppressed a grin. Just like she said, Drew had asked May to Fall Ball the night before, and May had been in a daze ever since.

"Psst," May said, coming out of her trance. "Maybe we'll get an early dismissal."

"Yeah, and maybe I'm blonde," Dawn scoffed. "We never get early dismissals."

But when, thirty minutes later, the announcement was made that they were going home early, May leaned over and grinned, offering to buy Dawn a box of hair dye.

"You're so funny, I forgot to laugh," Dawn said sarcastically as they walked outside.

May stuck her tongue out. "I think you're spending too much time with Paul."

"What does Paul have to do with anything?" Dawn asked, feeling slightly irritated.

"Oh, nothing," May said, smiling slyly. "Except that you're about to get in his car so he can give you a ride home."

Dawn felt her face begin to heat up. "So? Drew gives you rides all the time."

"Yes, but Drew doesn't go out of his way to pick me up in the morning," May pointed out. Dawn blushed deeper. She had almost had a heart attack the other morning when Paul had shown up outside her house, honking his horn at seven in the morning.

"We're _friends_," Dawn said, keeping her voice low. "Just like you and Drew," she added, somewhat spitefully.

May just raised an eyebrow. "For now," she said, smiling slyly.

"Well, Paul and I are just friends," Dawn said firmly. "Now and forever."

"Whatever you say, Dawn," May said, rolling her eyes. She waved goodbye as she headed to Drew's car, where the tall, green haired boy was waiting. Dawn sighed and started walking over to Paul's truck, scowling at the ground.

"Dawn, wait up," someone called. Dawn turned around to see Barry running up to her.

"Dammit," she muttered under her breath. As Barry drew closer, Dawn forced herself to smile. "What's up, Barry?"

"What are you doing this weekend?" Barry asked.

"Oh, you know, the usual stuff," Dawn said vaguely. "Why?"

"Because I'm taking you out to dinner on Saturday," Barry said cockily, flashing her a grin.

"Oh, really?" Dawn said, putting a hand on her hip.

"Yep. Cool, right?"

Dawn sighed. "Sorry, but I just remembered. I do have plans."

"With who?" Barry asked, looking surly.

"I don't think that's any of your—"

"You're going out with that freak show, aren't you?" Barry interrupted.

Dawn just regarded him coldly. "We're not going 'out', per say, but yes, I already have plans with one of my other _friends_." She tried to put as much emphasis on the word "friends" as possible, but Barry wasn't buying it.

"What do you see in him, Dawn?" he asked loudly. "I mean, come on, he's a total weirdo."

"No, he's not," Dawn said hotly. "And who I hang out with is none of your concern."

"Oh, really?" Barry asked, suddenly very serious. "You think you know him that well, Dawn, but you really don't."

"What are you talking about?"

"He's a criminal," Barry said harshly. "He's a freaking pyro. Why do you think he came to Pennington? His old school kicked him out after he tried to burn the place down." 

"I don't believe you," Dawn said, narrowing her eyes.

"Then ask him!" Barry shouted. "Ask him and see what he says."

"I will," Dawn said icily. And she turned on her heel and walked away, anger curling inside of her like a fiery snake.

"What was that all about?" Paul asked as Dawn got into the truck. She slammed the door and threw her stuff on the ground.

"Nothing, just Barry being a dick, as usual."

"What else is new?" Paul quipped as they pulled out of the parking lot. Dawn sighed and closed her eyes.

"I just . . . he didn't used to be like that, you know? We were friends in middle school, and he actually used to be a nice person."

"What happened?" Paul asked.

"I don't know. They say everything changes in high school, and I guess it did. For Barry at least." Dawn scowled at the smile face on the side of her book bag. "What are you looking at?" she snapped, glaring at the insultingly cheerful face.

"You're really worked up," Paul commented. "What did he say?"

Dawn sighed. "Just some bullshit about how you're an arsonist or something."

Beside her, Paul froze, his knuckles going white as he gripped the steering wheel. Dawn looked at him sharply. "Paul? He _was_ lying, wasn't he?" When Paul didn't answer, Dawn sat back in shock. "Too late for yes to be convincingly," she said weakly.

The rest of the ride was spent in complete silence. When Paul pulled up in front of Dawn's house, she grabbed her things wordless and opened the door.

"Dawn, wait," Paul said suddenly, grabbing her wrist.

Dawn jerked out of his grasp. "Why? So you can do damage control?" she asked icily, slamming the door. Dawn stomped up the path angrily, refusing to look back as she unlocked the door and went inside.

Once inside, Dawn groaned and flung herself face down on the sofa. High school officially sucked.

For the rest of the week, Dawn steadfastly avoided Paul. She arrived to her classes just before the bell rang, and was the first one out the door at the end. At lunch and in classes, Barry seemed pleased with this development, but Dawn refused to look at him either, instead throwing herself full-heartedly into conversations with May and Marina. They both noticed that something was up, but they were either too tactful or too afraid to say anything.

The worst part was, Dawn couldn't figure out what pissed her off more. The fact that Paul apparently _was_ an arsonist, or that he hadn't told her. Deep down, Dawn realized that, more than anything, she felt betrayed.

That Friday, Dawn sighed as the bus dropped her off at the end of her street. It was barely November, but Dawn thought it felt more like January. The wind cut through her jacket like a knife, and not for the first time, Dawn wished she had her license. As she walked up the road, hunched over against the icy wind, Dawn realized that someone was parked outside of her house.

"Shit," Dawn muttered as the black truck came into view. She walked up to the driver's side window, fully intent on banging on the glass and giving Paul a piece of her mind, but the cab was empty. Confused, Dawn started walking up the path. She was halfway to the porch before she noticed the figure sitting on the steps.

"What are you doing?" Dawn asked disdainfully, staring at Paul. He looked up at the sound of her voice and scrambled to his feet.

"Please, just let me explain," Paul said imploringly.

"Why should I?" Dawn asked, going to unlock her door.

"I thought we were friends."

"Friends don't keep secrets like that," Dawn replied frostily. Guilt tugged at the back of her mind, but she kicked it down. Her secrets were completely different.

"Look, I knew that if I told you, you would start acting like this," Paul said.

Dawn laughed harshly. "I'm acting like this because I had to find out from Barry, Paul. _Barry_. You made me look like a complete idiot."

Paul glared at her. "So, what? You're angry because you looked bad?"

"No, I'm angry because you lied to me!" Dawn shouted.

"I never lied," Paul said stiffly.

"You withheld information," Dawn countered. "It's the same thing." She paused for a second. "I suppos everyone else knows."

"Who?"

"Eric and Luke and _Nicole_," said Dawn bitterly, unaware of the slight emphasis she put on the other girl's name.

Paul nodded slowly. "They do." Dawn made a disgusted noise and turned to go inside. "But only because Luke's dad was the police officer who arrested me." Dawn stopped, her hand on the knob. "I'll tell you what happened, but you have to let me talk."

Dawn didn't respond.

"Or am I just automatically guilty in your books?"

"You have fine minutes," Dawn replied, turning around and crossing her arms. "And then I'm going inside, and locking the door."

"Fine." Paul shifted uncomfortably, staring at his feet.

"Well?"

"I was twelve and my parents had just split up," Paul said, his voice tight. Dawn started slightly. She hadn't known his parents weren't together. "We were still living in Rochester back then, and I had . . . issues with the divorce."

"So, what?" asked Dawn scornfully. "You decided you'd have a little fun and set the place on fire?"

"No!" Paul glared at her, his dark gray eyes furious. "I didn't do it on purpose, okay? I was screwing around in one of the science rooms, and I thought it'd be funny to set couple strips of magnesium on fire. Things just . . . got out of hand." Paul looked miserable. "I pulled the fire alarm, but it was already pretty bad. Luke's dad took me out in handcuffs. My mom had to come pick me up at the police station."

"They didn't charge you with anything?" Dawn asked quietly.

Paul shook his head. "No. Luke's dad talked to me for a little bit, and he realized I wasn't actually an arsonist. I got put on probation for a while, and the school expelled me, but that was the end of it. We had to move anyway, so my mom figured Pennington was as good as place as any. I think she hoped Luke would be a positive influence or something."

Paul sat down on the edge of the porch, and after a second, Dawn sat down next to him.

"You know, you could have just told me that to begin with," she said.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really."

"Your behavior for the past week suggests otherwise," said Paul dryly.

Dawn shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not going to apologize, if that's what you're waiting for. I had every right to be pissed."

"Yes, you did," Paul admitted. They both sat there for a while, listening to the sound of leaves rustling across the ground.

"What did you think would have happened if you told me?" Dawn asked, looking at Paul.

He sighed unhappily. "I don't know, Dawn. Honestly, I don't know what to expect from you. You're very . . . unpredictable."

"Gee, thanks," Dawn said sarcastically.

"Oh, come on," Paul said, standing up. "You know what I mean." He held out his hand to help her up. She looked at it for a second and then sighed.

"Yes, I do," she said, taking his hand and letting him pull her to her feet. "And by the way, you left your stupid robot here last Saturday."

Paul chuckled. "Yeah, Nicole accused Eric of kidnapping him. I didn't think it was a good idea to tell her where Sheldon really was."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Yeah, seriously," she said, opening the door. Paul hesitated before going inside.

"Are we . . ."

"Okay?" Dawn asked wryly. "I suppose so." Paul looked relieved. "But if this is ever an issue again, I won't be so forgiving," Dawn warned.

"Whatever you say, Dawn," Paul said, smirking as he went inside.

"Hey, I don't like your tone," Dawn snapped, following him into the house.

"What else is new?"

"Paul!"

November forged on, each day colder than the last. Privately, Dawn thought she might have forgiven Paul even if he hadn't shown up at her house. The bus heaters were spotty at best, and the thermometer hadn't been above fifteen degrees since the week after Halloween.

Dawn had to dodge patches of black ice as she walked out to the truck every afternoon. There had already been three accidents, and it wasn't even December. If this was only fall, Dawn didn't even want to think about what winter was going to be like.

One afternoon, as Dawn tried to avoid falling and breaking her neck, she heard someone come up behind her. A hand clamped down on her shoulder, and someone said, "Dee-dee?"

Dawn froze, her heart lurching at the sound of her old childhood nickname. She turned around slowly, her pulse racing as she came face to face with a ghost from her past.

"Kenny?"

**C3L35714 asked me for a cliff hanger, so that's who you can all blame. But like I said, drama drama drama. What would high school be without it? Anyway, reviews are quite lovely, so don't hesitate to let me know what you're thinking. Thank you all so much for your support. I love writing so much, and you all make it so rewarding for me. **


	8. Catching Up

**Yes, I know that Kenny's eyes are technically black, but since Paul's eyes are already gray, I figured I would make Kenny's green. And just to be clear, this story is still ikarishipping, but the penguinshipping is very real, and will definitely be a source of conflict for Dawn. **

"Kenny?" Dawn asked, staring at the boy in front of her. Although the word "boy" wasn't really accurate. The last time she had seen Kenny, they were both eight years old, midgets as far as Dawn was concerned. She'd had three inches on him, enough to give her the edge in all of their snowball fights that winter.

Looking at him now, Dawn realized that the little boy she had known eight years ago was gone. In his place stood a guy that could only be classified as indisputably, heartbreakingly attractive. Kenny towered over her, his body lean but toned, with a short mop of reddish brown hair and those impossibly green eyes.

"This is freaking insane," Kenny said, stepping closer. He was dressed casually, just a green windbreaker and jeans, but Dawn felt as though an elf had taken up tap dancing in her stomach.

"Yeah," she said lamely. Kenny was staring at her, his gaze so intense that Dawn squirmed slightly. "Long time, no see, huh?"

Kenny laughed, his eyes crinkling around the edges. Warmth spread through Dawn suddenly, and she found that she was grinning like an idiot. Without further ado, she flung her arms around Kenny, hugging him tightly. He laughed again, gripping her tightly as they swayed back and forth in the parking lot.

"Okay, seriously," said Dawn, pulling back slightly, "what are you _doing_ here? I thought you still lived in Charleroi?"

"Nah," Kenny said, shaking his head. "My dad took a job here with the power plant, so guess who got to move in the middle of his junior year?"

"Aw," Dawn said sympathetically. "That sucks."

"Not so much now," Kenny said, winking at her. "I still can't believe this."

"Me neither."

"Hey, you want to get something to eat?" asked Kenny. "We can catch up and stuff."

"Definitely," Dawn said. She suddenly remembered Paul. "Just give me a second."

She crossed the parking lot swiftly, feeling as though she was walking on air. It was ridiculous how bubbly Kenny made her feel.

Dawn opened the passenger side door of the truck and stuck her head inside. "Hey, go on without me," she told Paul. "I just ran into someone I haven't seen in, like, years."

"Who is he?" asked Paul, his face blank.

"Kenny," replied Dawn. "We went to school together before I moved to Pennington. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Without waiting for a reply, Dawn left, practically skipping back to Kenny.

"Who's that?" he asked, staring at the truck as Paul pulled away.

"One of my many friends, all of whom adore me," Dawn said loftily, sticking her nose in the air.

"Someone hasn't changed a bit," Kenny said, shaking his head.

"Nope." Dawn flashed him a smile. "Ready to go?"

* * *

><p>For Dawn, talking with Kenny was like finding an old photograph from her childhood. Despite his radically altered appearance, he was still the little kid she had grown up with. Whenever he smiled at her, which was constantly, Dawn found herself remembering the way a pile of leaves smelled as they rolled around like idiots, or the sound that the crickets had made while they caught lightning bugs in the summer.<p>

But there was another emotion tugging at the back of Dawn's mind, something sharper and darker than nostalgia. For the time being, Dawn ignored it. She would deal with that later. In the meantime, she listened as Kenny told her about his life in Charleroi, while she told him all about Pennington. They were sitting in, according to Dawn, the finest eating establishment around. Kenny had laughed and said that back home, they just called it a Wendy's.

"Well, we're a bit more uppity here in Pennington," Dawn had replied, sticking her pinky finger out as she sipped her coke daintily.

For a while, the conversation stayed on school. Dawn hadn't realized how much could happen in eight years.

"I always figured you'd be a cheerleader," Kenny said, flicking a french fry into the air. He caught it between his teeth, grinning.

"I can't believe you still do that," moaned Dawn, laughing.

"Oh, you have no idea," replied Kenny. "In fact, I've branched out over the past few years."

"How?" Dawn asked warily.

"Let's just say, many a gummy bear has lost their life because of me," Kenny said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"That's so gross!" exclaimed Dawn, although she couldn't keep herself from giggling.

"Anyway, I officially start class on Monday, so I'm counting on you to show me the ropes," Kenny said, tilting back in his chair.

"Oh, please," Dawn scoffed. "You'll be fine. Everyone loves fresh meat."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kenny yelped, his chair falling forward with a loud "clunk".

Dawn just laughed evilly. "You'll find out soon enough."

"I'm going back to Charleroi," Kenny said, standing up. Dawn grabbed his wrist, pulling him back into his seat. "Or not."

"Definitely not," Dawn replied. They just grinned at each other for a minute, and that evil little elf started tap dancing in her stomach again. And the worst part was, she actually kind of liked it.

* * *

><p>"Okay, spill," May said seriously, dragging Dawn into the bathrooms the following Monday.<p>

"May!" Dawn complained. "I'm hungry. Can't we do this in the cafeteria?"

"No!" shrieked May. "You can't just show up with a guy who looks like _that_ and not tell me every single detail about your relationship!"

Dawn sighed. "I used to go to elementary school with him."

"So you two have a history," said May, her eyes lighting up fiendishly.

"I guess," Dawn said, blushing fiercely.

"Ask him to Fall Ball!" May said, but Dawn shook her head adamantly.

"No. I already told Barry I'm not going, remember?"

"So?" scoffed May. "Tell him that your parents agreed to let you go because it was Kerry."

"Kenny," Dawn correctly automatically. And for a second, she actually considered doing just that. It wouldn't be that unbelievable of a lie. And if she went to the dance with him, there might be a couple slow dances . . .

"No," Dawn said, shaking her head to dislodge her daydreams. "I already told Paul that we'd go see a movie that night."

May visibly deflated. "Who cares? It's _Paul_."

Dawn bit down on her tongue to keep from snapping at her best friend. "I'm not going to ditch him like that. Paul and I are actually friends, as opposed to me and Barry."

"Whatever, Dawn," May said, rolling her eyes. "But I think you'll regret it when you're freezing your ass off in some movie theater when you could be cuddled up next to Hottie—I mean, Kenny."

"Um, excuse me, but what happened to Drew? Did you forget about him that quickly?"

"No, but just because I'm on a diet doesn't mean I can't look at the desserts," May said, winking.

Dawn rolled her eyes and headed for the door. "I'm going to lunch now."

"Will Kenny be there?" May asked innocently, following Dawn into the hallway.

Dawn didn't reply. She was extremely glad that for the moment, May couldn't see how deeply she was blushing.

* * *

><p>Because she was such a good friend, Dawn insisted on making sure that Kenny made it to all of his classes. As they walked down the hallways, Dawn tried to ignore all of the girls who were staring openly at him. A new student, especially a boy, was always the center of attention, mainly because Pennington's dating pool wasn't exactly overflowing with fish. And while they walked, Dawn tried to convince herself that she had absolutely no ulterior motives for walking Kenny to his classes. She tried, but failed. Epically. Personally, she blamed the green eyes.<p>

"So," Kenny said, leaning against a locker outside the chemistry room. "Want a ride home today?" He smiled winningly at her, those stupid eyes twinkling like they were sharing a private joke. But before Dawn could reply, someone pushed passed them into the room: Paul.

She felt as though someone had deflated a balloon in her chest. Sighing internally, she said, "I would, Kenny, but I kind of already have a ride."

"Oh," he replied, looking disappointed. "That's fine."

Just then the bell rang, and they scurried into the room. Dawn sat down feeling oddly hollow. She felt a slight pang of guilt as she realized that she hadn't spoken to Paul at all that day. It was the longest they'd gone without talking since they had officially become friends.

"So," May whispered conspiratorially, "are you two going to hook up in the supply closet after school?"

"Shut up," hissed Dawn.

May waggled her eyebrows ludicrously, and Dawn had to put her head down to contain her giggles.

"I will _kill_ you," she whispered after she managed to regain control. "And everyone will agree that it was totally justified."

"Dawn, what group does nitrogen belong to?" Dawn and May both jumped as the teacher looked at them abruptly.

"Um," Dawn said, frantically trying to recall the periodic table in her head. "Group 15?"

"Hmm . . . that's right." Mr. Dawkins shot her an irritated look before turning back to the board.

Dawn sighed in relief and leaned back in her seat. Sometimes, high school really sucked.

* * *

><p>Seventh period came and went. Dawn lost her weekly math battle to Mr. Xenakis, who gloatingly jotted down the scores. Dawn gritted her teeth and let him rub it in. Not for the life of her would Dawn have admitted that she'd been distracted by a pair of laughing green eyes.<p>

She walked out to the parking lot slowly, barely noticing that the temperature had dropped another ten degrees. There was a little fire burning in her chest, and Dawn found herself grinning goofily every now and then.

Just as she walked up to the truck, Paul started to pull out, narrowly missing hitting her.

"Hey!" yelled Dawn, pounding on the side of the car. Paul braked, the truck stopping suddenly. Dawn yanked open the door and climbed in angrily. "What the hell was that?"

Paul regarded her flatly for a second. "I didn't see you."

"Um, that's great," said Dawn incredulously, "but why didn't you wait for me?"

"I thought you getting a ride home with Kenny," Paul said, shrugging.

Dawn rolled her eyes and flopped back in the seat. "There you go, thinking again."

Paul narrowed his eyes at her as he put the car back into gear. "How'd you do on your math thing?"

"Fine," replied Dawn, although she couldn't help but scowl.

"Your face says otherwise," Paul remarked, smirking.

Dawn stuck her tongue out at him. "Oh, shut up."

"Are we still seeing that movie this weekend," asked Paul, "or have you decided to accept Barry's invitation to Fall Ball after all?"

"That rhymed," Dawn giggled.

"So easily amused," muttered Paul, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, Paul," sighed Dawn. "We're still going. Unless you decided to grow a pair and ask Nicole to the dance?"

Paul made a face that was a cross between sucking a lemon and getting punched. "Why do you hate me?"

"Oh, come on," Dawn said, "Nicole's a sweet girl, with such a lovely temperament."

Paul snorted. "You did hear her threaten to spike Eric's food with rat poison the other day, right?"

"Ooh, maybe I'll ask Eric to Fall Ball," Dawn mused. "Do you think that would give Barry a heart attack, or just a seizure?"

Paul roared with laughter. "Considering Eric's a scrawny little nerd of a freshman, I think it just might kill him."

Dawn cackled evilly. "Perfect."

They were both quiet for a while. Dawn couldn't have said what Paul was thinking about, but she was lost in diabolical plans that would rid her of Barry forever. Those same plans might also have included an impromptu meeting with Kenny in a secluded corner of the school. Life was unpredictable, you know.

"So what's going on with you and Kenny, anyway?" Paul asked suddenly.

Dawn jumped guiltily. It was almost like had had read her mind. "Oh, nothing," she replied casually, trying to play it cool. "I mean, we knew each other years ago. It's nice to reconnect with old friends, you know?"

"Riiiight," Paul said skeptically. "Is that why you spent most of English staring at him over your notebook?"

"I did not!" Dawn cried, feeling her face burn. "That's just . . . ew, I mean, it'd be like kissing your brother."

Paul raised an eyebrow. "I didn't say anything about kissing.

Honestly, if Dawn's face got any hotter, she was afraid that it might burst into flame. "This conversation is . . . absurd. And stupid. And completely irrelevant."

"Me thinks the lady doth protest too much," Paul said, smirking.

"I'm not talking to you anymore," Dawn said huffily, turning toward the window and crossing her arms stiffly.

Beside her, Paul chuckled. "It's really easy to push your buttons, you know that?"

"It is not!"

"I thought you weren't talking to me?"

"Argh!"

"See? My point exactly."

**Uh oh, love triangle! Well, actually, if you count Barry and Nicole, it's more of a love pentagon, but I'm not too concerned. Also, Kenny isn't just there to give Paul a little competition. He knew Dawn before she moved to Pennington, so I'm sure he knows all sorts of secrets about her that she hasn't told anyone, including Paul. Hmm, I wonder how Paul will take that . . . hehehe. Anyway, if you like to read about me mercilessly messing with innocent peoples' lives, please, leave me a review. It makes this all so much more fun. Thanks!**


	9. Commitment Issues

**So, writer's block really sucks. Actually, it wasn't really writer's block. I've just been in a really bad slump. Getting sick didn't really help matters, but whatever. I present, chapter 9! **

"I still can't believe you're not going to that dance," Paul commented as they walked into her house.

Dawn rolled her eyes. "I know. You've said that, like, five times. What, are you trying to tell me to get lost?"

"Maybe," Paul said, glancing at her sideways.

"Fine, then," said Dawn, glaring at him. "No candy for you."

"Please," Paul scoffed. "I've got a Milkyway and some Twizzlers. I'm good."

Dawn smirked at him. "Oh, yeah? Go look in the kitchen," she said, running up the stairs.

"Wait, where are you going?" Paul called after her.

"I have to change," Dawn yelled, going into her room. When she had left the house that morning, the weather had been unseasonably warm. Feeling slightly reckless, Dawn had put on a sundress, realizing that this might be her last chance to wear any of her summer clothes for months. The universe had laughed at her stupidity, and by the time school let out, there was a thick layer of snow on the ground.

Even though she was inside, Dawn was still shivering as she stripped, hopping from foot to foot in an effort to regain feeling in her toes. Her flats were completely ruined, but that was what she got for not respecting Mother Nature. Dawn pulled on a pair of jeans and a thick burgundy sweater, admiring the contrast her blue hair had with the rich, deep color. She winced as she eased her frozen feet into fuzzy socks before slipping on a pair of soft brown leather boots.

Dawn took a second to scrutinize herself in the mirror before she went downstairs. Even with her beige jacket, something seemed to be missing. Looking around her room, Dawn brightened as she spotted a muted gold scarf her mother had bought her for Christmas two years ago. She wound it around her neck, nodding in satisfaction as it pulled the entire outfit together. Hey, she might not be going to a dance, but she could still look good.

"Dawn! Hurry up!"

Paul was standing in the entryway, his arms folded over his chest. His eyes widened slightly as he caught sight of Dawn, but she was too busy looking at her phone to notice. Paul quickly scowled, pulling his gray beanie further down on his head.

"Would you care to explain why your kitchen looks like half a candy store?" he asked crossly.

"I like sugar?" Dawn offered as she walked to the closet and pulled out a ridiculously oversized purse.

"There's no way you're fitting all that candy into that bag," Paul said as he followed her into the kitchen. What had once been the kitchen table was now a veritable mountain of sugar.

"The hell I'm not," Dawn said, shoveling Twix and Kit-Kats into her purse.

Paul just shook his head and helped her cram the rest of it into the bag. "Well, at least you have Milkyways.

Dawn snorted. "Aw, that's cute. You think I'm sharing."

"You have a problem," Paul said bluntly.

"No comment."

"Can we go now?"

"Yes, I suppose," Dawn said loftily as she headed for the door. Behind her, Paul muttered something under his breath, but when Dawn looked back, he was smiling wryly.

* * *

><p>They were halfway to the theater when Paul's truck died.<p>

"Um, that doesn't sound good," Dawn said, listening as the engine coughed and spluttered. Paul eased the truck onto the shoulder just as the engine died completely. "And that sounds worse."

"Shit." Paul pulled a flashlight out from under his seat and hit the lever to open the hood. "Stay in the car," he said as he got out to inspect the damage. Dawn watched snowflakes swirling in the beam of his flashlight. She shivered, already feeling the chill start to creep into the cab in the absence of the heater.

Paul slammed the hood down and got back inside, his face grim.

"What's wrong?"

"Somebody did something to it," Paul said, pulling his cell phone out. "There were wires pulled out and oil everywhere."

Dawn narrowed her eyes. "Barry."

Paul sighed. "Probably. But again, no proof." While he called Luke, Dawn stewed in her seat. Who the hell did Barry think he was to do shit like this? She couldn't even go to the movies with her friends because of him. It was ridiculous.

"Luke's coming," said Paul, shoving the phone back into his pocket. "He and Eric aren't that far, actually."

"Great."

"Sorry. About this, I mean."

"Oh, it's not _your_ fault," Dawn said bitterly. "If anyone should be apologizing, it should be me."

Paul snorted. "At least we're not in danger of running out of food," he said, snagging a piece of chocolate.

"I guess I _have_ to share now," Dawn said, sighing dramatically.

"You know, I think you're one of those girls who eats their emotions," Paul commented. "I mean, there's no other explanation for how you're so happy all the time."

"You think I drown my sorrow in chocolate?" she demanded.

"Absolutely."

"Screw off," Dawn said, but since she spoke through a mouthful of Twix, she didn't sound too convincing.

"I swear, if you get chocolate all over my car, you'll walk home for the rest of the year," threatened Paul.

Dawn responded by throwing a Hershey bar at his head. Paul retaliated with a well-aimed Kit-Kat. By the time Luke pulled up, the cab of the truck was littered with candy, and Dawn was beating Paul with a Twizzler.

"Um, oka-ay," Luke said as Paul rolled down the window.

"Just for the record, she's absolutely nuts," he said, ducking as Dawn threw another chocolate bar at him. It soared through the open window, landing in the light layer of snow on the ground.

"Sweet!" Eric yelled, jumping out of Luke's van. "Free candy!"

"Come on," Dawn said, getting out of the truck. "We're already late."

"And whose fault is that?" Paul muttered.

Dawn made a face at him as she climbed into the back of Luke's van. In the front seat, Eric was devouring the chocolate bar like a wild animal.

"His mom controls his sugar intake," Luke explained as he got behind the wheel. Paul slid onto the bench beside Dawn, rolling his eyes as Eric twisted around in his seat, eyeing Dawn's bag hungrily.

"Hey, hey, Dawn," Eric whispered loudly. "What's in the bag?"

Dawn slowly slid the bag under her seat. "Nothing . . ."

"You're lying," Eric said, narrowing his eyes.

"Uh . . ." Dawn's eyes darted back and forth, but there was nowhere for her to go. Beside her, Paul was laughing under his breath as Eric stared at the bag like a hungry lion.

"Gimme that bag and no one gets hurt." Eric didn't wait for an answer before he reached for the purse. Because his limbs were (as Dawn would tell Paul later) ridiculously long, he snatched it with ease. He cackled manically and began clutching handfuls of candy to his face.

"Dude, you have issues," Luke said conversationally.

Eric hissed and him and said, "We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious!"

Paul buried his face in his hands and groaned. "Make friends, my mother said. It'll be fun, my brother said."

Dawn and Luke both laughed, while Eric continued to gorge himself on forbidden candy.

"Hey, where are we?" Paul asked as Luke pulled down a tree lined street.

"I told Nicole I'd pick her up too," Luke said, stopping in front of a house. Paul's face creased with exasperation while Dawn tried to smother her giggles.

"Shut up," hissed Paul. "And not a word from you? Understood?"

"Loud and clear," she said. Paul didn't look convinced, probably because Dawn was quivering with barely contained laughter.

The door closest to Dawn was yanked open, and Nicole started to get in, shaking snow from her messy hair. Dawn squealed and slid away from her, practically pinning Paul up against the other door. Nicole stared at Dawn, then Paul, looking thoroughly confused.

"What—"

"Paul's truck had some engine trouble," Luke cut her off. "So I had to pick him and Dawn up."

"I didn't know she was coming, too," Nicole practically spat, her voice several degrees colder than the snow falling outside.

"Yeah, I didn't either," Dawn said blithely. "But I was bored painting my nails and bleaching my hair at the same, so I thought, why not?"

Eric laughed so hard, he looked like he was having a seizure in the front seat. Dawn could feel Paul chuckling silently against her, while utter loathing slid across Nicole's face. She made a face as she slammed the door shut, shaking the entire van.

"Hey, easy on the car," Luke cautioned.

"Whatever," Nicole muttered, sinking back against the seat and scowling. Dawn glanced at Paul with a raised eyebrow, but he was determinedly avoiding her gaze. Luke got back on the highway, apparently oblivious to the extremely awkward atmosphere in the backseat. By the time they got to the theater, Dawn practically shoved Paul out the door, she was so eager to escape.

"Oh my God," Dawn said under her breath. "I thought she was going to pull a knife out and freaking stab me."

"Right," Paul said sardonically, "because that's obviously a normal reaction."

"Keep it up and I'll sit in between Luke and Eric," Dawn threatened.

"So?"

"Which means you and Nicole will get to be seat buddies!"

Paul's face paled considerably. "I'm sorry and I'll never do it again."

Dawn smirked. "That's better."

* * *

><p>Of course, Paul ended up sitting next to Nicole anyway. The girl was definitely craftier than Dawn had given her credit for. Right before they filed into the row, Nicole "dropped" her purse. By the time she had picked it up, everyone else was already sitting down, with Paul at the end. Dawn chuckled quietly to herself, watching Paul stare at the screen in mute misery.<p>

"You're really awkward with girls, aren't you?" she whispered, leaning in close so that no one else heard.

"Not all girls," Paul muttered back. "Just ones that . . . you know."

"Aww . . ." Dawn breathed, smirking. "So you have commitment issues."

"I do not have commitment issues," he hissed.

"Ever had a girlfriend?" asked Dawn, raising an eyebrow. Her question was met with silence. "That's what I thought."

"That has nothing to do with it," Paul growled, glaring at her.

Dawn tilted her head from side to side. "Eh, maybe, maybe not."

Paul raised a Twizzler threateningly. "Don't make me use this."

"If the two of you don't shut up," Eric said, leaning over to glare at them, "I'm gonna go order a pepsi and guzzle the entire thing."

"No!" Everyone, including Nicole, practically screamed. Eric sat back, looking satisfied as he unwrapped another Hershey bar.

"That's what I thought," he said, taking a bite.

* * *

><p>Two hours later, Dawn's brain felt as though it had been fried in oil, run over by a truck, and then stomped on by a particularly large clown. Originally, she had been excited that they were going to see a science fiction flick. But after the third time paradox, which was quickly followed by one of the freakiest dream sequences Dawn had ever watched, she had just closed her eyes and tried to go to her happy place.<p>

"Who picked the movie?" Dawn inquired, looking around at the rest of them.

Paul and Luke turned to glare at Eric. "I'll give you three guesses," Paul said.

Eric was too busy running around like a maniac to notice. He had barely managed to sit through the movie. Halfway through, Dawn had begun to worry that he would actually vibrate right out of his seat and onto the floor.

"My brain hurts," Dawn moaned. "That was awful."

"Maybe you just didn't understand it," Nicole said nastily. "I mean, it isn't a rom-com, after all."

"Nicole," Paul said tiredly, "I'd rather be shot in the face than sit through a rom-com, but honestly, I think anything would have been better than that movie."

Nicole glared at Dawn, her beady little eyes enraged.

"Anyway," Luke said, stepping in before blood could be shed, "we should probably get going. The snow's really picking up."

They all piled into the van, even Eric, who managed to stop moving long enough to buckle the seat belt. Luke turned the heater on full blast, and a few minutes later, Dawn was drifting off in her seat.

"Dawn, wake up."

"Hm?" Dawn yawned, opening her eyes. "Whasup?"

Paul shook his head exasperatedly. "We're at your house."

"Oh, okay," Dawn yawned again and stretched. She reached into the front seat and snatched her bag of candy back, prompting a wail from Eric.

"Oh, shut up," Paul snapped. "Your mom won't let you have any of this anyway." He got out of the van after Dawn and walked her to the door, muttering under his breath the entire way.

"So what's going to happen to your truck?" Dawn asked, digging in her pocket for her house key.

"I guess I'll call a tow truck tomorrow," Paul said, shrugging. He leaned against the wall and shoved his hands into his pocket. "The garage should be able to fix it."

"I _am_ sorry," said Dawn quietly. "It is kinda my fault that—"

"It's not your fault, Dawn," Paul said impatiently. "Not unless you've suddenly sprouted blonde hair and changed your name to Barry."

"Well . . ." Dawn said, smirking as she unlocked the door.

Paul rolled his eyes. "I'm surrounded by nutcases."

"Oh, definitely," Dawn laughed. "And you want to know what the really sad part is?"

"What?"

"Out of all your friends, I think I'm the most normal."

"Oh, God," Paul whispered, looking stricken.

Dawn cackled. "I know, right?"

"This is why people become alcoholics."

"Night, Paul," Dawn said, laughing as she went inside.

"Night, Dawn." Paul was still shaking his head as he walked back to Luke's van. As she made her way upstairs, Dawn felt that she was genuinely glad that she hadn't gone to the dance. She was smiling like an idiot as she changed into her nightgown, and later, curled up under her comforter, Dawn realized that for the first time she could remember, she hadn't minded the snow.

**Nicole's such a bitch, but I kind of feel bad for her. Unrequited love really sucks (just as Severus Snape ****) And it doesn't help that Dawn's the only one who can really go toe to toe with Paul like that. If I'm doing character analysis, I would say that's one of the reasons he likes her so much. Anyway, reviews are wonderful. I almost cried when I saw that there were 70 reviews today. I mean, when I first started writing on here, I was psyched for just one or two. When my other story hit ten reviews, I was like, YES! Anyway, I'll try to get back to regular updates again. Thanks, and happy weekend!**


	10. Flirtatious

**Drumroll, please. Penguinshipping has entered the building! Part of my reasoning for having Kenny make an appearance was that Barry wasn't really a rival for Paul. He was just some jerk that Dawn hated. The thing with Kenny is, he really isn't a jerk. He's a genuinely nice guy, who also happens to be extremely cute. The second part of my reason for having Kenny appear is that I felt that you learn a lot from dating difference types of people, and you'd be hard pressed to find two people more difference than Paul and Kenny. So, with that out of the way, here's chapter 10. **

* * *

><p>For once, the sound of her alarm clock didn't fill Dawn with the dread and irritation that it usually did. She practically bounced out of bed and into the shower, humming to herself as she went about her morning routine. It was funny what a difference a field trip made in her attitude toward the day.<p>

Dawn was just finishing braiding her hair back into a long plait when she heard Paul honking the horn. Rolling her eyes, Dawn grabbed her purse and jacket, not even bothering to hide the spring in her step as she made her way out to the truck.

"Somebody's in a good mood," Paul commented as he pulled away from her house. "You do realize that it's only Thursday, right?" A couple weeks ago, Dawn had come out to the car giddy with excitement because she thought it was a Friday. Paul had been the one to break the news to her that it was only a Thursday.

"Field trip day," sang Dawn, leaning back into the seat and closing her eyes.

"Not for me," grumbled Paul.

Dawn's eyes shot open in horror. "You're not going?" she asked, dismayed.

"Nope," Paul replied briefly.

"Oh, that's just wonderful," Dawn moaned, slumping backwards. "May and Marina aren't going either. I'll be all alone."

"You'll survive," he said sarcastically. "Worst comes to worst, they'll stick you in a group with all the other losers whose friends didn't go."

"Hey!" But the sad part was, Paul was probably right. As they pulled into the school parking lot, Dawn actually contemplated staying behind and going to class instead. At least she'd be with people she knew.

As they walked inside, Dawn looked dismally over at the crowd of students waiting to load the field trip buses. Paul smirked at her and said snarkily, "Have fun."

"Oh, shut up," muttered Dawn, walking over to the group. She tried to look on the positive side. As boring as spending the day alone would be, at least she'd get to miss History class.

Dawn was so lost in her bout of self-pity that it took her a second to realize that there was someone standing next to her. Kenny grinned and jabbed her in the side, causing her to jump a mile.

"Kenny!" Dawn yelped, dancing away. Kenny just laughed, grinning wider at the look of shocked outrage on her face.

"Sorry, Dee-Dee, I couldn't resist." His green eyes flashed merrily at her, and Dawn felt herself begin to blush.

"I hate you," she said, trying to cover up her embarrassment.

"Oh, come on," Kenny teased, "you know you love me."

"Not if you keep doing stuff like that," Dawn warned, but she smiled in spite of herself.

The chaperones started roll call, and when she and Kenny were assigned to the same bus, Dawn felt a rush of excitement buzz through her. As she climbed the bus steps, Dawn grinned, barely able to contain her rapidly growing excitement. The tap dancing elf in her stomach was back, summoned by the prospect of an entire day alone with Kenny.

Automatically, Dawn slid into the seat near the emergency exit. She saw Kenny glance at the bright red bar with a knowing look in his eye, but he didn't comment on it as he sat down next to her. Dawn sighed a bit in relief, reclining against the green pleather seat.

"Have you been to D.C. before?" Kenny asked, stretching out his long legs.

"Once, when I was five," Dawn replied. "But we were just stopping through on our way back from Georgia."

"That doesn't count."

"Yes it does," Dawn argued.

"Did you see the Washington Monument?" Kenny asked critically.

"Well, no, but—"

"Then it doesn't count."

"Oh, please," scoffed Dawn, "who cares about that? It's literally a giant rock."

Kenny gasped in mock horror. "Blasphemy! And you call yourself an American."

Dawn giggled. "And don't get me started on the Lincoln Memorial."

"I'm dead," Kenny said, clutching his heart and falling backwards. "You've killed me."

"You're such an idiot," Dawn laughed, swatting him on the shoulder.

"Careful, Dee-Dee, or I'll have to recreate that haircut you had in second grade." Dawn gasped as Kenny mimed snipping off her long braid.

"Don't you dare!"

"Or what?" Kenny grinned, his green eyes twinkling.

Dawn spluttered, but couldn't come up with an answer. There was something about having those eyes focused on her made her brain feel like it was coming unraveled.

"That's what I thought." Kenny crossed his arms and sat back, looking satisfied. "Anyway, if you're not interested in the monuments, why did you come on this trip? And please don't say shopping."

Dawn just smirked, unaware of how much she looked like Paul. Kenny groaned. "If you think I'm spending the whole day in Forever 21—"

"Oh, relax," scolded Dawn. "I could do that here."

"So, what then?" he asked warily.

"Honestly, I don't really know what I want to do," admitted Dawn. "I just know that I don't want to spend the entire day walking around in the cold, staring at giant pieces of stone."

Kenny grinned suddenly, looking like the Cheshire Cat. "I have three words that may or may not make your day."

Dawn raised an eyebrow and smiled. "What?"

"International. Spy. Museum."

* * *

><p>Four hours later, Dawn was practically bouncing out of her shoes. While the museum itself had been cool, apparently the gift shop was an attraction in and of itself.<p>

"I came here a couple years ago with my parents," Kenny said, sidestepping a troop of enthusiastic Boy Scouts, "and ever since, I've been dying to come back."

"I can see why," Dawn replied, her eyes wide as she took in the display of cryptology books. That was one of the things that had always pulled her towards ciphers; when you got right down to it, codes were, essentially, math. And Dawn was very good at math.

"Hey, Dawn, look," Kenny said, laughing. "This is perfect for you." He held up a pink t-shirt with white letters emblazoned across the front.

Dawn put a hand on her hip and cocked an eyebrow. "Really, Kenny?" The shirt read, "Deny Everything."

Kenny snickered. "For the girl who once painted a skunk stripe down the back of my dog and then blamed me? Most definitely."

"Oh, come on," Dawn said sweetly, "Midnight looked so cute."

"You traumatized him," Kenny retorted. "We couldn't get him to come out from under the couch for weeks."

"That's just because your mom insisted on giving him a bath," Dawn argued. "If she had left him alone, he would have been fine."

Kenny shook his head exasperatedly. "You're something else."

"I know." Dawn smiled at him innocently before disappearing into the book section. Kenny rolled his eyes and followed her, a blush slowly creeping across his face.

* * *

><p>After a long and agonizing decision, Dawn went with the coolest code book she could find. Kenny tried in vain to get her to buy the "Deny Everything" shirt, but in the end, Dawn felt that she had enough clothes.<p>

"You know what's weird?" Kenny asked as they walked outside.

"The fact that they sell a camera that's embedded in a tie?" offered Dawn.

"_No_. It's just funny, how when we were kids our favorite game was Spies."

"So?"

"We're seventeen, on our own in Washington, D.C., and what are we doing?"

Dawn giggled, realizing what Kenny was getting at. "Playing spies. And speak for yourself. I'm still sixteen."

"Semantics. Anyway, are you hungry?"

"I'll give you three guesses," Dawn said sarcastically.

Kenny laughed, which made the tap dancing elf start to do somersaults in Dawn's stomach. Kenny had a habit of throwing his head back when he laughed, which caused his hair to glint red in the muted sunlight. Idly, Dawn wondered if his hair felt as soft as it looked.

"So, where do you want to go to eat?" Kenny asked, hunching his shoulders slightly against the wind.

"Oh, I don't care," Dawn said absently, still fantasizing running her hands through his thick mop of hair.

"Have you ever been to a Five Guys?"

"Uh . . ."

Kenny laughed. "I'll take that as a no."

"It's not some weird ethnic place, is it?" asked Dawn warily. Over the summer, May had convinced her to try a new restaurant called Fujiyama's in town. Since Dawn had a general aversion to most ethnic foods, including sushi, it had been a disaster.

"Definitely not," Kenny said, leading Dawn down the street. "It's more of a hotdog and hamburger place."

"Two of the most beautiful words in the English language," Dawn sighed happily.

* * *

><p>As a general rule, Dawn wasn't very flirtatious. Before Kenny had moved to Pennington, her interest in dating had hovered somewhere between complete and total apathy and cool indifference. The dating pool at Pennington was rather scarce, and Dawn didn't believe in dating someone just to feel good about herself. Whenever May or Marina had pressured her to do out on dates, Dawn had shrugged them off, assuring both girls that when she met someone she truly wanted to go out with, she would.<p>

Enter Kenny.

As a general rule, Dawn might not be very flirtatious, but Kenny had her breaking that rule.

On the bus ride home that night, Dawn fell asleep. When she awoke, Kenny was grinning down at her, his green eyes dancing.

"Have a nice nap?"

"Hmm?" Dawn sat up groggily, noticing belatedly that her head had been resting on Kenny's shoulder. "Oh, I'm sorry . . ." she started, but Kenny waved her down.

"It's fine. Honestly, what else are shoulders good for other than napping on?"

Was he flirting _back_ with her? Dawn felt the blood rush to her face, and she was thankful that it was so dark on the bus. She giggled self-consciously. "Still . . ."

"Hey, what are you doing on Saturday?" asked Kenny suddenly.

"Not much. Why?" He was not asking her out. No way. Not Kenny.

"I was thinking we could go bowling," Kenny said, suddenly very interested in the bus floor. "Like we used to when back in Charleroi." He was! He was most definitely asking her out.

"You mean when we were eight and you could barely lift the ball?" Dawn asked, laughing. She was surprised at how casual she sounded, when on the inside, she was flipping the fuck out.

"Yeah, like that."

"Well, if there's an opportunity for me to show you up at something, count me in," Dawn said, grinning.

"Don't count your chickens before the fat lady sings," Kenny warned. Dawn laughed, partly due to the horribly mixed metaphor. If it had been anyone else who said something like that, it would have irritated Dawn to no end. But when Kenny said it, she couldn't help but smile.

"_Okay_," Dawn said mockingly. She had to bite her lip to keep herself from grinning like an idiot. The elf in her stomach had stopped somersaulting and was currently doing a series of backflips, making Dawn feel giddy.

"Keep it up, Dee-Dee," Kenny said teasingly.

"Or what?" It was Kenny's turn to search helplessly for answer. "That's what I thought." Dawn smirked satisfactorily.

"You really haven't changed," Kenny said, somewhat wonderingly.

"Neither have you."

* * *

><p><strong>Uh oh. Paul definitely has his work cut out for him. Especially since Dawn doesn't even see him as a guy right now, just a friend. Aw, I friendzoned Paul. Eh, oh well. Anyway, if you like the story, feel free to leave me a review. Thoughts, feelings, rants, critiques, and futile shouts into the silent void of space are always welcome. Thanks!<strong>


	11. Pick Me Up at Eight

**Lol, so apparently a lot of people don't like the whole love triangle thing. I'll address all that at the end of the chapter. And to everyone who's upset that Paul's been friendzoned, don't worry. I have a plan . . . hehehe. **

* * *

><p>"So, how was the field trip?" asked May.<p>

Dawn just smiled down at her lunch tray. "Oh, it was fun," she said casually, pushing a carrot around with her fork.

May looked at her sharply, her eyes narrowing. "Huh. So who did you walk around with?"

"Kenny," Dawn replied calmly, spearing a piece of lettuce.

Before May could reply, Marina sat down at their table, grinning from ear to ear. "So what's this I hear about you going on a _date_ tomorrow?"

"I don't know anything about what you've heard," said Dawn evasively, fighting to hide a smile. Marina just gave her a knowing look and sighed, shaking her head. May had started to have convulsions, her hand slapped over her mouth as she tried to contain her giggles.

"You have about three second to tell us everything," said Marina threateningly, jabbing a plastic fork at Dawn, "or else May and I will both bore you to death with Jimmy-Drew news."

"Oh, come on," Dawn complained. "That's like, blackmail."

"Extortion, actually," Marina replied snidely, opening her yogurt. "Proceed."

Dawn sighed, biting her lower lip as she recalled her day yesterday. "Nothing really happened," she said lowly, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "I mean, we just walked around and visited museums."

"What about lunch?" May asked, and Dawn had to smile. Armageddon could be raining death and destruction down on their heads, and all May would be concerned about was eating.

"He took me to some restaurant he knew," Dawn said, shrugging. "It wasn't really that big of a deal."

"Riiight," said Marina, not sounding convinced. "If it wasn't such a big deal, then why are you going on a date with him tomorrow?"

"It's not a date," Dawn said, blushing. "I mean, we're just friends."

This time it was May's turn to scoff. "Dawn. If you're friends with Kenny, then Marina and Jimmy are cousins."

Marina giggled. "I hope not. That would cause quite a few issues." Dawn and May stared at her as Marina slowly turned bright red. "What?"

"Okay," said Dawn, putting down her fork. "My interrogation is over, and now we're moving onto Marina."

"Did he kiss you?" May asked in a hushed whisper, her blue eyes going wide. Almost imperceptibly, Marina nodded.

May and Dawn squealed loud enough to startled the entire table behind them.

"Ha! Take that, Jade." May did a little dance in her seat, which attracted the attention of Drew, who just _happened _to be walking by their table.

"Really, Maple?" he asked lazily, flicking his ridiculously green hair.

"What?" asked May defensively. Dawn and Marina both exchanged grins before focusing intently on their food.

"Oh, nothing. Just glad to see you have no social awareness whatsoever," Drew replied loftily, starting to walk away.

"Hey!" May yelped, blushing angrily. "What's that supposed to mean?" And then there were two.

Dawn watched with an air of scientific curiosity as May and Drew walked away. "Do you think he's ever going to just ask her out?"

"Oh, eventually," Marina replied. "I think he's just waiting for the right moment."

"Right," Dawn said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, back to you. So what happened with Jimmy?"

Marina sighed happily, pulling a necklace out from under her shirt. Dawn gasped as she took in the elegant pendant, the glass gleaming sea green and blue even in the dingy cafeteria lighting.

"It's a mermaid," she squealed. "That's freaking adorable."

"Yeah," said Marina dreamily. "He gave it to me after Fall Ball."

"So are you two . . ." Dawn looked questioningly at Marina, who nodded shyly. "Awww."

"Okay, enough with the awwwing," Marina said, tucking the necklace back under her shirt. "I have a serious question."

"Uh oh." Dawn looked at her warily. "I'm not sure I like the sound of that."

"Relax. I just want to know—does it make me a bad person if I laughed when Jade found out?"

"Why? What'd she do?"

Marina giggled. "Punched a hole through that mural in the art wing. Mrs. Thomas gave her detention every week until Christmas."

"Hmm," Dawn mused. "Well, I kind of feel bad for the art kids, but . . . eh, they'll get over it."

They both dissolved into a fit of laughter, the kind that makes your stomach ache and tears stream down your face. By the time they regained control, the lunch bell was ringing and students were crowding the doors, heading to fifth period. Dawn said goodbye to Marina at the staircase as her fellow bluenette headed up to the calc room.

Up ahead, Dawn caught sight of Paul's gray beanie in the crowd, and she ducked and dodged around her classmates to catch up to him.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Nothing good," muttered Paul darkly. "Luke overheard Mitchell in the faculty room. Pop quiz today."

Dawn groaned. "I swear, that woman wants us to fail."

"Probably." Paul sighed resignedly. "She's certainly sour enough." Dawn snorted, prompting a glare from Paul. "What?"

"Nothing," she said. "It's just funny that you'd say that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Paul asked crossly, his gray eyes narrowing at her. They stopped outside the chem lab, melding into the group of students waiting outside the locked door.

Dawn giggled. "You perpetually look like you've just swallowed a lemon."

"That's because I have to perpetually put up with your nonsense," Paul retorted.

"Oh, please," Dawn scoffed. "You don't _have_ to put up with anything I do. You choose to."

For once, Paul didn't have an answer. His mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. Dawn grinned triumphantly, causing Paul to scowl deeper.

"Aww, what's wrong?" teased Dawn. "Will they kick you out of the robotics club if you admit you actually like having me around?"

"Something like that," Paul said, smiling wryly. For a second, their eyes locked in the hallway, blue on gray. And then Ms. Mitchell was there, her voice shrill and commanding as she ordered students out of her way. Paul cleared his throat and looked down at the ground, waiting for the Nazi Ms. Mitchell to unlock the door.

Dawn didn't notice Kenny staring at them unhappily, his green eyes troubled as he watched her and Paul walk into the chem lab together. Frowning slightly, Kenny shoved his hands into his pockets and followed them inside.

* * *

><p>After the bell rang, ending seventh period, Dawn walked down the hallway to her locker, her mind still on the History paper she had been working on during study hall. She didn't immediately notice Kenny, leaning casually against the locker next to hers.<p>

"Hey," said Dawn, surprised. Kenny looked up and smiled at her, but Dawn detected a hint of distress tugging at the corners of his eyes. "What's wrong?"

Kenny took a deep breath. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Uh, yeah," Dawn said, bemused.

"I'm not messing anything up between you and Paul, am I?"

Dawn stared at Kenny in shock for a second, her eyebrows shooting up her forehead. "Um, sorry, what?" she finally managed to ask, blinking rapidly.

Kenny sighed unhappily. "It's just . . . sometimes it seems like the two of you are . . ."

Dawn cocked an eyebrow. "We're what? Dating?"

Kenny stared at the floor. "Yeah."

Sighing, Dawn shut her locker door and motioned for Kenny to follow her as she walked down the hallway. "Paul and I are friends. I don't really understand why it's so hard for people to grasp that. Would we be having this conversation if Paul was a girl?"

"Um, no, because you're not a lesbian," Kenny replied, his brow furrowing. "You're not, are you?"

Dawn laughed. "No, I am most definitely not a lesbian." She paused and then grinned at him slyly. "Would you care if I was?"

Kenny blushed furiously, avoiding her eye. "What do you mean?" he asked evasively.

"Would we still be friends if I wasn't into guys?" she asked innocently, batting her eyelashes for good measure. Dawn almost laughed when she thought about May and Marina's reactions if they saw her now She didn't think that her friends had ever seen her flirt so openly with a guy before.

"Of course we'd still be friends," Kenny spluttered. "But that's not what I—" He broke off, realizing what he'd started to say.

Dawn just smiled and leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. "Pick me up at eight tomorrow, okay?" And then she walked away, trying to look as calm as she possibly could. If Dawn had bothered to look back, she would have seen Kenny standing stock still in the middle of the hallway, shock rendering him almost senseless. He slowly raised a hand to touch the spot on his cheek where Dawn had kissed, an incredulous smile creeping across his face.

* * *

><p><strong>So, yeah, this is really just a fluffy filler bit, but I still really liked writing it. It was weird at first to write flirty Dawn, but in the anime, she really is kind of flirty. Especially with Kenny. Also, it must be said that as I wrote this chapter, and as I'm writing this note now, there is a fluffy gray kitten sitting in my lap, refusing to move. Occasionally, she'll get up and sit on my keyboard, until I pick her up and move her. It's the freaking cutest thing ever. Anyway, after this chapter, I really want to get back into the heavier stuff. There's still those tragic backstories I promised (I bet you thought I forgot about that), and Barry's not going to be happy with Dawn and Kenny's relationship either. Also, I'm going to take a second to address some concerns people brought up in the reviews from last chapter. <strong>

**First, Left-to-die brought up the fact that Paul hasn't really shown an interest in Dawn. I think that in his own way, Paul definitely has. The one thing that has always really stuck out to me about Paul is that he seems really insecure. And especially since Dawn is who she is, he's not going to immediately come out and profess his feelings for her, if he even understands what he's feeling in the first place. But I will point out that Paul invited her to go stargazing with him, something that I like to think he's always preferred to do on his own. Also, he drove all the way over to her house to play that joke on her with the robot, something he's never done before for anyone, let alone a girl. So I think Paul's still sort of working out his feelings for Dawn, and Kenny's sudden appearance, as well as Dawn's obvious romantic interest in him, doesn't really help Paul on that front. **

**Next, Rin916 has the issue about the high school love triangle. At this point, I'm not if I would consider it a love triangle, since, as I mentioned above, Paul's still working out his feelings for Dawn, and Dawn's solely interested in Kenny. I guess that if you count Barry it could be considered a love triangle, but since Dawn would rather date anyone **_**other **_**than Barry, I don't think he counts. Also, one of my best friends spent most of her junior year of highs dealing with a love triangle, so I wouldn't necessarily say that they never happen in high school. But I will make the assurance that the entire story won't be a whole Bella-Edward-Jacob deal. There are never going to be entire chapters where Dawn's like, "Oh, I think I love Paul, but I also love Kenny. Oh, no, what do I do?" Blah. I hate that too. **

**To KNIGHTWALKER, I totally get where you're coming from. I've read stories where the main character is totally in love with one guy, and then five minutes later she "realizes" that she's actually in love with someone else. It's annoying. You're right that feelings don't change so quickly. And Kenny is definitely flawed, which will become more apparent later. Right now, I'd say Kenny and Dawn are both sort of seeing each other through rose colored glasses. As their relationship progresses, those lenses definitely come off. **

**And finally, to Blazing Green, if I didn't already mention it, Barry's not done yet. I'm not that nice **** He's definitely going to continue to cause problems. Just wait. **

**Phew, that was a lot of words. Thank you so much to everyone who is reading and reviewing and generally making my life better. Also, the kitten is still in my lap. My little sister named her Kitniss Everdeen. I about died laughing. **


	12. Bad Influence

**So, a bit shorter than usual, but Dawn goes all badass at the end, so I guess it's excusable. Also, a little bit of contestshipping, just cuz **** And, (drumroll please) this is the second update for today, out of five. **_**Five**_**. Someone look outside, because pigs just might be flying. **

* * *

><p>On Sunday morning, Dawn was awakened by a particularly loud banging noise. Groaning, she grabbed blindly for her alarm clock. She squinted blearily at the readout, trying to make the numbers stop moving long enough to check the time.<p>

"What the hell?"

It wasn't even eight in the morning. Muttering curses under her breath, Dawn rolled out bed and started yanking on clothes. She jammed her feet into a pair of socks so violently that her toes ripped through the ends.

"Dammit," she grumbled, tossing the socks aside. Stepping out into the hallway, she peered cautiously at her parents' door. It was still closed, so hopefully they couldn't hear the commotion that Dawn now realized was coming from the front door.

In the entryway, Dawn paused to pull a sweatshirt on over her nightshirt before she opened the door. May was standing outside on the stoop, her face red and her lips chapped, as she raised her hand to knock again.

"What the absolute fuck?" Dawn asked without preamble. May just shook her head frantically, pushing past her into the house. Dawn started to slam the door shut but remembered her parents at the last second. Instead, she settled for grabbing a fistful of May's hair and dragging her into the living room, ignoring the pained yelps coming from her best friend.

"It is _seven thirty-three_ in the morning," she hissed, glaring at May and giving her head a little shake. "It is the _weekend_. Unless someone is _dead_—"

"Drew kissed me!" blurted May. She quickly slapped a hand to her mouth, her eyes wide and panicked.

Dawn stared at her incredulously for a second, caught between the urge to laugh and the urge to commit murder. Finally, exhaling violently, Dawn released May's hair and flopped down on the couch, motioning for May to join her.

"And why, may I ask, couldn't you just text me?"

"I did," May said, gulping. "But you didn't answer."

"Because I was _sleeping_, May. It's this fun thing people like to do on the weekends."

"I know!" wailed May hysterically. "But I didn't know what else to do! I'm freaking out here, Dawn! I'm freaking out!"

"Why?" asked Dawn. "I thought you liked him."

"I do!"

"Then what's the problem?"

May groaned, burying her face in a throw pillow. She said something else, but the words were lost in a layer of velvet.

Yanking the pillow away from her, Dawn said, "One more time?"

"What if this messes everything up?" May whispered, stricken. "What if things get really awkward now, and we can't ever talk again, and every time he sees me he looks at me like I'm, I don't know, a dead animal or something? _Dawn!_" May was breathily heavily, her eyes quite demented as she contemplated every horrible possibility in the future of her relationship with Drew.

Dawn just started laughing. "I guess it all depends," she said, wiping a tear from her eye, "on whether you kissed him back."

May was very, very still for a second, staring at Dawn with wide eyes. Then, almost imperceptibly, she nodded.

"You didn't accidentally bite his tongue or anything, did you?" asked Dawn jokingly. May shook her head. "Well, then, I think you're fine." Dawn grinned at her, faking a thoughtful expression. "Unless, of course . . ."

"Unless what?" May looked absolutely terrified, clutching handfuls of her hair in trepidation.

"Unless you wake him up at seven thirty in the morning on a Sunday!" Dawn yelled, hitting May in the face with the pillow.

Wincing, May said, "Yeah, sorry. I was just . . . having a moment." She paused. "I really like him, and I just . . . I don't want to mess this up."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "May, everyone but you can see that Drew absolutely adores you. Just . . . in a sarcastic, critical sort of way."

"Gee, thanks," May replied, laying on her own layer of sarcasm.

Dawn paused for a second, and the grinned craftily at May. "So . . ?"

"So what?"

"How was it?" Dawn smirked at the way May instantly blushed beet red.

"Oh, you know . . ." she said falteringly, her ears beginning to turn red as well.

Dawn snorted. "No, I really don't know." She waited while May processed this.

"You've never kissed a guy?" she asked curiously. "Seriously?"

"Nope," Dawn said, smiling wryly. "Guess I haven't found one I want to kiss yet."

"Oh, really?" asked May, raising an eyebrow. "So I'm to assume that your date last night was a bust?"

"I didn't say that . . ." replied Dawn, grinning slyly.

May squealed, clutching the pillow to her chest in excitement. "What happened?"

Dawn stared at the ceiling dreamily. "I can't really explain it. He's just . . ." She broke off, unable to fully articulate the way she felt when she was with Kenny.

May nodded in understanding anyway. "I know _exactly _how you feel."

"Really?" Dawn asked in mock surprise. "You have a crush on Kenny too?"

"Shut up," laughed May, tossing the pillow back at Dawn.

* * *

><p>"Is that ice cream?" Paul asked skeptically, staring at the plastic cup in Dawn's hands. It was a cold, slushy Monday morning, and Dawn had decided that her usual bowl of cereal just wasn't going to cut it.<p>

"Maybe," she replied. "Why? You want some?"

"Not for breakfast," Paul said, shaking his head and looking amused.

"Everyone's a critic," Dawn muttered darkly under her breath. She scooped another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth, glaring out at the world. A couple of cute, furry squirrels were scurrying around outside, looking for nuts. They deserved to die.

"What's wrong now?" asked Paul, sighing.

"Nothing."

"Something's wrong."

"No there isn't."

"Dawn, you're giving the squirrels death looks. What happened?"

"Nothing happened, Paul. Can't I just be miserably for no good reason?"

"No, you can't," Paul replied bluntly. "That's my thing."

Against her will, Dawn laughed. "Oh, yeah, I forgot," she said sarcastically. "So, what? I just have to go around grinning like an idiot all the time."

"Yes," Paul said flatly.

"I hate you all."

"Again, that's my thing."

"Not anymore."

Paul chuckled. "If you ask nicely, maybe I'll agree to share."

Dawn flipped him off as she took another bite of ice cream. Paul burst out laughing, causing the truck to swerve dangerous close to the edge of the road.

"Paul!" Dawn yelled, but he was already pulling the car back into the lane.

"You know," Paul said, still laughing, "I think I'm a bad influence on you."

"You don't say," Dawn replied mockingly.

* * *

><p>They made it to the high school without any further incidents, but on their way to English, Dawn caught sight of a rather upset looking Barry heading toward them.<p>

"Shit," Dawn muttered, eyeing Barry warily as he approached.

"Shinji," Barry said, sneering at Paul.

"Neanderthal," Paul shot back. Dawn bit back a giggle as Barry's face flushed with anger.

"Set anyone on fire recently?" he retorted, smirking as Paul's face drained of color. Dawn stepped in between the two, glaring fiercely at Barry.

"That's enough," she said warningly. Barry just curled his lip at Paul contemptuously before turning his full attention on Dawn.

"I need to talk to you."

"I have class," she replied coldly, starting to walk away.

"It'll only take a second," Barry said. Without waiting for her to reply, he grabbed Dawn by the arm and dragged her into the deserted art hallway.

"Hey!" said Paul angrily, following them.

"This doesn't concern you, Shinji," Barry spat, letting go of Dawn to shove Paul away.

"Paul, don't," Dawn cautioned as Paul started forward furiously. He stopped and looked at Dawn, his gray eyes flat and hard. "Just go to class, okay? I'll be fine." She said this more for Paul's benefit than her to own, truth be told. A fight between Paul and Barry would end badly, considering Barry's father was a school board member. And, although Dawn didn't like to admit it, Paul's record wouldn't help him, either.

"Fine," Paul said grudgingly, turning and stalking away. Dawn watched him disappear around the corner before turning on Barry angrily, her blue eyes blazing.

"What the hell do you want?"

Barry cut right to the chase. "You went on a date Saturday," he said, glaring at her accusingly.

"Yes, I did," Dawn replied evenly. "But it's really none of your business."

"Oh, really?" Barry snapped. "I thought we were friends."

Dawn laughed incredulously. "After everything you've done to Paul? Not likely."

Barry's face darkened. "Hey, I'm just trying to help you out here, Dawn. I mean, your track record with new relationships hasn't exactly been spot on."

"Oh, my God," Dawn groaned, "can you just leave Paul alone? Please?"

"No, I'm not just going to 'let it go'," Barry snapped, grabbing her wrist. "He's a criminal. He almost burned down a whole school. You shouldn't be hanging around him."

"Please," scoffed Dawn. "It was an accident and he was like, twelve."

"Do you really believe that?" Barry asked, his voice suddenly quiet. "I mean, do you honestly trust this guy?"

"Yes, I do," Dawn said, yanking her hand free of his grasp. "I've been alone with him a lot lately, and Paul has yet to try and set me on fire," she said sarcastically. "And none of this matters, because I wasn't on a date with Paul. I went out with Kenny."

"And how _does_ your new boyfriend feel about Shinji?" asked Barry nastily.

"I wouldn't know," Dawn replied coolly. "It's not an issue for us."

"Not yet, anyway," Barry said. "Do you really think any guy is going to want his girlfriend alone with a loser like Shinji?"

Dawn had finally had enough. "Barry, let's get something straight. _I am never going to date you_. Ever. And the way you've been acting the last couple months, you'll be lucky if I ever even speak to you again. So leave me the fuck alone. My relationships with Paul and Kenny are none of your business. And, so help me God, if you bother me again, I'll report you to the fucking police."

Without waiting to see Barry's reaction, Dawn turned and strode away.

* * *

><p><strong>So, that's that. Next chapter moves into December, and of course, the Christmas season. There's definitely a Christmas party in the future for Dawn and her friends, as well as a New Year's Eve party, which, I'll say now, is going to be a huge turning point for the story. Also, someone asked me if I could put Misty into the story. I've always had a lot of trouble writing Misty for some reason. If I can find a way to work her in naturally I will, but even then, it probably won't be a huge role. Sorry! Thank you so much to everyone who's reading this, and I just want to give a shout out to that one person from Bulgaria who's viewed this story a bunch of times. I love knowing that no matter where any of us come from, we can all still connect through a shared love of stories. Thanks!<strong>


	13. Rumors

**Here we go. Chapter 13 of the New York Times #1 Bestseller, **_**Chaos Theory**_**! Oh, if only . . . Anyway, as fun as it was to write Dawn totally bitching Barry out in the last chapter, there have to be repercussions. Barry is a very vindictive person, and he's not going to let something like that go down without some sort of act of revenge. **

* * *

><p>By lunchtime, the entire school was buzzing about what had gone down between Dawn and Barry in the art hallway. A vast majority of the student body had still been under the impression that their star quarterback and cheerleader darling were going to end up together. And the irrefutable evidence that this was <em>not<em>, in fact, going to happen sent the whole school into a tizzy.

"Honestly," snapped Dawn as she got into Paul's truck after school, "the way people are talking, you'd think that Barry and I were throwing punches at each other."

Paul chuckled. "From what I heard, it was close enough."

Dawn narrowed her eyes. "From what you heard? I told you to go to class."

"So, naturally, I hung around the corner and made sure that Barry didn't try anything stupid."

Dawn glared at him. "I don't need you to babysit me, Paul."

Paul snorted. "Obviously. But I would have been remiss in my duties if I had left you alone with Barry."

"Duties?" asked Dawn, cocking an eyebrow. And if she hadn't known better, she would have sworn that Paul blushed, ever so slightly. He certainly avoided looking at her when he responded.

"Duties as a fellow human being."

It was Dawn's turn to snort. "Riiiight. You know, I think you'd say just about anything to avoid admitting you're a good guy."

"Shut up."

"No way," said Dawn, giggling. "Annoying you is too much fun."

* * *

><p>Unfortunately, as good as it had felt to put Barry in his place, Dawn was waiting warily for the consequences. He wasn't the type of guy to take such a blatant rejection quietly. The second they walked into the school on Tuesday morning, Dawn knew something was up.<p>

"Everyone's staring at us," she said quietly, trying to ignore the pointed looks as she and Paul made their way to English.

"I know," replied Paul, looking slightly troubled.

Outside of the English room, a group of students huddled together right outside the door, whispering amongst themselves. As Dawn and Paul drew near, one of the girls noticed them and immediately motioned to her friends. All but two of the group disappeared into the classroom, leaving a tall girl with pink curls and a blonde haired boy with malice glinting in his steely gray eyes.

"Ursula, Trip," said Dawn amiably, but with a slight hint of wariness. As a cheerleader who had failed to make varsity, Ursula had always harbored a bit of a grudge against Dawn. Trip was a photographer for the school newspaper, but he had a habit of printing embarrassing pictures, intended to degrade and humiliate rather than promote journalism.

Ursula's lips pressed into a tight line that might have been construed as a very stiff smile, had her eyes not resembled tiny shards of ruby colored ice.

"So what is it, Dawn?" asked Ursula, folding her arms across her chest. "Cheerleading not exciting enough, so you go for a bad boy?"

"Um, what?" Dawn feigned ignorance, although she had a dull sense of foreboding at Ursula's words. There would only be one reason why she would be calling Paul a bad boy.

"We know about the fire," interjected Trip, sneering at Paul. "The whole school does, actually. The newspaper sent out a special edition last night to the entire student body. And I have to say, no one's very pleased about having an arsonist in our midst."

Paul didn't say anything. He just stared them both down, his gray eyes resembling dark pits in a face stamped from steel. It didn't take long for both Trip and Ursula to start squirming, looking anywhere but at Paul.

"Class is about to start," said Paul, his voice deathly quiet. "And I don't want to be late. Do you?"

For all their bluster, Ursula and Trip scattered quickly. Dawn watched them retreat down the hallway, her blue eyes narrowed in fury as she imagined taking a pair of garden shears to Ursula's ridiculous curls.

Paul sighed and tugged the beanie off his head, running a hand through his hair before replacing his hat. "I hate being right all the time."

"What do you mean?" asked Dawn, still glaring down the hallway.

"This was my first guess as to how Barry would retaliate," said Paul, shrugging. "After all, he can't really hurt you. So he's projecting his anger onto me."

Dawn immediately looked at Paul, guilt creasing her face. "Paul, I didn't—"

"It's not your fault," he interrupted, waving her down.

"But if I hadn't—"

"If you hadn't said something to Barry yesterday, you would have eventually. You would have only been prolonging the inevitable."

"Alright, alright," she mumbled. Paul's face was impassive as they walked into the classroom together, but Dawn was cringing slightly. She hoped that the rest of the school would react differently to the rumors that Trip and Ursula had.

* * *

><p>In a way, Dawn was right. The rest of the school did react differently than Trip and Ursula. No one came up and said anything nasty to Paul. No one tripped him in the lunchroom, or tried to knock him into the walls in between classes. In fact, no one said anything to Paul at all.<p>

Which, as Dawn discovered, was a thousand times worse than outright dislike. Overnight, Paul had become a complete pariah. Freshmen skirted around him nervously, avoiding eye contact as though he might whip out a lighter at any moment. Seniors flashed him looks of disgust as they strode by, smirking and sneering as they went. Even the teachers made their views clear. Ms. Mitchell ignored Paul for the entirety of their chemistry class, while Mr. Larkin tried to give him a detention for using a "non-regulatory pen" in history. It was only Dawn's fierce glare that had made Mr. Larkin back down, although Paul later said it was way she crushed the cover of their textbook with her bare hands.

There were only a handful of people in the school who refused to jump on the asshole bandwagon. Luke refused to be intimidated by the other seniors, although at over six feet tall, it wasn't exactly hard for him. And then there was Eric. As Paul had described him a while ago, Eric was a "scrawny nerd of a freshman". By all rights, he should have been cowed by the opinions of much older, more experienced students. Instead, he sought Paul out in between classes and slapped a larger sticker on his chest which read, in obnoxious red and orange lettering, "Eric's BFF. Hands off! That means you Nicole!"

Dawn had thought it was hilarious, but for some reason, Paul hadn't.

As for Nicole, she actually seemed to be enjoying the situation (other than Eric's sticker). The way she was acting, she was Jackie Kennedy and Paul was J. F. K. Secretly, Dawn felt that since Nicole didn't really have any friends in the first place, she wasn't exactly sacrificing much by sticking by Paul. Still, the way she was hanging on Paul was a bit annoying. Dawn felt her jaw clench involuntarily every time she saw Nicole clutching his arm, or leaning against his shoulder during lunch. It was just really pathetic, Dawn told herself. No one would ever catch her clinging to a guy like that.

"I just can't believe Barry would do something like this," she said, stabbing a piece of lettuce angrily. "It's such a dick move." Across the lunch table, May and Marina exchanged uneasy glances. "What?"

"Look, Dawn . . ." May began, but Marina placed a hand on her arm to stop her.

"We get that you and Paul are . . . friends," said Marina hesitantly. "It's just that . . . honestly, I think that what Barry did was the right thing."

"_What_?" asked Dawn incredulously, looking back and forth between her two friends. "You can't be serious."

"The fact that Paul has been here all this time and no one ever knew that he could be a potential danger is really scary, Dawn," May said, tugging on a strand of hair anxiously. "I mean, no one knew anything about it."

"I did," Dawn said frostily.

"You didn't tell us," replied May, frowning.

"Of course I didn't," said Dawn coolly. "After all, it's not really any of your business, now is it?"

The atmosphere immediately dropped ten degrees, and both May and Marina pulled back, their faces stony.

"I think I'm done for the day," declared Dawn haughtily, picking up and tray and striding purposefully out of the cafeteria. White hot fury was bubbling up inside of her, but she couldn't seem to calm herself down. The fact that _May and Marina_ bought into Barry's rumors was almost physically sickening to Dawn. She had never felt so personally betrayed by anyone, ever. It was an awful feeling, one that didn't dissipate for the rest of the day.

* * *

><p><strong>And there you have it, folks. Not only has Barry turned the entire student body against Paul, but somehow, he's managed to turn Dawn's two best friends against her. Hmm, I wonder where she'll go for comfort . . . hehehe. Anyway, I would love to hear some of your predictions as to how you think this will affect Dawn and Paul's relationship. It's not easy having the entire school against you, and I think that Dawn is definitely going to be feeling some guilt over this. <strong>


	14. Hot Chocolate and Guilt

**So I wrote most of this while listening to another amazing Five for Fighting song "Easy Tonight". It just has this really cool beat to it, and I had to keep stop writing so I could dance around my room. A bit cliché, maybe, but hey, I like music. Sorry for the crazy delay between updates, but Christmas is always ridiculous for my family. On the bright side, I did finish a rough outline for the entire story, so I know where it's going instead of writing blindly and hoping everything turns out okay. And to make up for such a long break, this chapter is a bit longer than usual. Here's chapter 14, and enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Dawn was grateful when the bell finally rang, ending seventh period. She probably had had worse days, but at the moment, none came to mind.<p>

"I'm so ready to get out of here," Dawn groaned, catching up to Paul at his locker.

"You and me both," he said gruffly, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. They walked to the parking lot in silence, decidedly ignoring the assortment of odd looks and glares they received. Outside, storm clouds were beginning to gather, and by the time they made it to Paul's truck, snow was falling through the air.

"Snow day, snow day, snow day," chanted Dawn under her breath. Maybe if she concentrated hard enough, the universe would get the hint. In fact, Dawn was concentrating so hard that she didn't notice at first that Paul had stopped in his tracks, staring at his truck.

"What's wr—" Dawn stopped speaking, dismay temporarily taking her voice. Paul's truck was covered in a mishmash of garbage; it looked like someone had upended the kitchen trash cans over the truck, smearing a layer of spoiled food over the entire vehicle. Someone had scrawled "go die in a fire" and "scumbag" across the truck doors in thick, red paint.

"Oh, Paul . . ." Dawn whispered, staring at the truck in horror. "I'm so sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" he snapped. "It's not your fault."

"It kind of is," said Dawn unhappily. "I shouldn't have lost my temper with Barry."

"I disagree," said Paul, chuckling in spite of the damage to the truck. "I haven't laughed so hard in years."

"Is this funny to you?" snapped Dawn, glaring at him.

Paul sighed. "Not really," he said, shaking his head. "On the bright side, at least they didn't slash my tires."

Dawn snorted. "Since when do _you_ look on the bright side?"

"Since when do you _not_ look on the bright side?" Paul fired back.

"Dawn's not looking on the bright side?" exclaimed Eric loudly, walking up with Luke. "Everybody run! Armageddon's a coming!"

"Not funny, Eric," grumbled Paul.

"Eh, it's a little funny," said Luke fairly. He looked at the truck and winced, running a hand through his hair. "They really outdid themselves."

"You could say that," replied Dawn bitterly. Even with Luke and Eric helping out, it still took the better part of an hour just to clean the truck off enough so that it was drivable.

"Barry better watch it," Eric said threateningly. "If he and I ever meet in a dark alley—"

"We'll be sure to tell your parents you loved them very much," interrupted Luke. Paul and Dawn cracked up while Eric scowled.

"You all wait," he muttered. "One day, I'll have a black belt in karate, and then you'll all be sorry."

"Oh, come on, Eric," Dawn said teasingly. "You wouldn't really hit a girl, would you?" She fluttered her eyelashes a bit, causing Eric to blush and start to stammer. Luke pretended to swoon behind his back, causing Eric to whip around and try to put him in a headlock.

"Well, I've got to go," Luke said. "See you guys tomorrow." And he walked off, Eric clinging futilely to his back.

Dawn and Paul both sighed and shook their heads.

"Ready to go home?" asked Paul.

"Am I ever," replied Dawn.

* * *

><p>The snow was falling fast and thick by the time they reached Dawn's house, and she managed to persuade Paul to stay a while with the offer of hot chocolate.<p>

"I have a question," Paul said as they walked into the empty kitchen. "Are your parents ever home?"

"Of course they are," replied Dawn stiffly, focusing intently on filling the kettle.

"Then why haven't I ever met them?"

"That's easy," Dawn said, turning around and grinning at him wickedly. "I don't let them out when I have people over."

Paul stared at her for a long moment. "You have serious issues," he said finally, shaking his head.

"I know," chirped Dawn happily. "Hot chocolate?"

In the days that followed, Dawn would hold the memory of that afternoon close. Not that anything really happened. In fact, hanging out with Paul and a never ending supply of hot chocolate was ridiculously normal. They just sat around playing cards while the TV played in the background. It wasn't anything that Dawn would have done with May or Marina, but somehow, it calmed her in a way that nothing else did. It was like a warm, comfortable bubble, one that they both felt safe in. So when the spell broke and real life intruded, Dawn couldn't help but feel irritated.

* * *

><p>"Of course the snow would stop in time for them to plow the roads," Dawn grumbled as Paul drove to school the next day. "I couldn't get a snow day if I sacrificed my first born child."<p>

Paul didn't even bat an eye. "Let's refrain from humans sacrifice, alright? It's only high school."

"Only high school," Dawn scoffed.

"Relax, Dawn," said Paul. "After all, you're not the one who's public enemy #1."

Immediately a wave of guilt crashed over Dawn. Despite Paul's sarcastic reassurances, she still blamed herself for all the grief he was getting.

"Hey, I have to talk to Mr. Xenakis after school today," Dawn said, hoping to change the subject. Paul pulled into his usual parking space and raised an eyebrow at her.

"And? Am I supposed to wait for you like a chauffeur?"

"I was going to tell you to go ahead without me," replied Dawn, "but if you're going to be like that, yes. Pull the car around front and wait for me there, Jeeves."

Paul rolled his eyes. "Keep it up, Blue."

"Excuse me?" Dawn glared at him, daring Paul to repeat himself.

"You heard me, Indigo."

"That's not my name," said Dawn through gritted teeth.

"Ah, so the princess has a sore spot," remarked Paul snarkily. "Interesting, Azure."

Dawn just smiled sweetly at him. "You think you clever, don't you?"

"Very," replied Paul, looking satisfied.

"I'd watch it if I were you," Dawn continued calmly. "Or who knows what nicknames I might come up with. Violet comes to mind. As does Lilac and Lavender."

Paul narrowed his eyes at her. "Tread carefully, Cobalt."

"See you later, Eggplant." Dawn got out of the truck and headed inside, barely keeping herself from breaking out into a ridiculous grin. It was strange how sometimes it was the little things in life that make you laugh the most.

* * *

><p>In between massive amounts of homework and the looming holiday season, Dawn somehow managed to forget about the war Barry was waging. Of course, this was made easy by the fact that Paul didn't mention any of the things Barry and his cronies did to him. As far as Dawn knew, things had died down after the attack on Paul's truck. It was almost two weeks later that she finally found out about all the things that had been going on behind her back.<p>

It was Friday afternoon, and Dawn was sitting in on a robotics club practice, watching as Sheldon the Robot danced jerkily around the room. Courtesy of Eric and Luke, the robotics lab was ablaze with light. They had cut up a bunch of blank CDs and taped the shards to a Styrofoam sphere. They glued their makeshift disco ball to a small rotor, and then anchored the entire thing on the projector mount. A couple of multicolored flashlights later and fractals of light were swirling across the room.

"Look at him go," Eric said proudly, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye. "They grow up so fast."

"And you wonder why you can't get a girlfriend," Luke said, swatting Eric on the back of his head.

"Hey, that's not fair and you know it," complained Eric. "Mandy Talbert asked me out last week."

"And you said no?" asked Dawn, puzzled.

"Well, yeah," said Eric, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Why?"

Eric didn't answer; instead, he blushed a deep, burning red and stared at his shoes. From the corner, Paul looked up from the laptop and chuckled.

"Eric is . . . how did he put it, Luke?"

" ' Lost in the throes of unrequited love,' " replied Luke dramatically, shaking his head.

Eric just sighed unhappily. "Sure, sure, make fun of the guy with a broken heart. Tomorrow, why don't we go kick some little kids with crutches and laugh as they fall down?"

Dawn giggled and asked, "Wait, who is it?"

Eric shook his head and refused to answer. Dawn looked at Luke, but he too shook his head. "Even I won't go that far. Bros before hoes and all that." Dawn raised a critical eyebrow at Luke, waiting for him to realize what he said. "Not that, uh, you're a hoe or anything. I mean—"

Paul laughed. "Open mouth, insert foot."

"Oh, I totally see what Luke's talking about," Nicole said from the doorway, shooting a nasty look at Dawn. "I mean, come on. It's twenty degrees outside. A tank top, Dawn? Really?"

Dawn sniffed at Nicole disdainfully but refrained from answering. She found that ignoring Nicole pissed her off more than anything Dawn could have actually said to her. And besides, she had been wearing a sweater all day. It wasn't her fault that the janitor thought the robotics lab should also double as a sauna.

"How's the programming going?" asked Nicole, going to stand by Paul.

"Stiff buggy," he said gruffly. "You want to look at it?"

Nicole gave him a sickly sweet smile—or as close to sweet as a card carrying member of the Bitch Club could manage—and nodded enthusiastically. Dawn rolled her eyes and went to help Eric, who was trying to attach a set of bedazzled wheels to Sheldon the Robot.

"You can use those in a competition?" asked Dawn doubtfully.

"Nah," replied Eric. "This is just for fun. We can't run any of the competition programs until Paul and Luke fix the computer. So I make sure that Sheldon doesn't feel neglected in the meantime."

"Ah," said Dawn understandingly. "You're definitely one of a kind, Eric."

He beamed at her. "Thanks, Dawn." And then, just as suddenly, he frowned. "Tell that to Nicole, though." He glowered in the direction of the corner, where Nicole was laughing shrilly at something Paul had just said. She gave him a playful slap on the shoulder, and Eric winced painfully.

"Wait, you have a crush on _Nicole_?" asked Dawn in a hushed voice.

Eric nodded miserably.

"Why?"

"I can't explain it, okay? I know she can be . . . difficult sometimes, but I've known her since kindergarten. It's just . . . I don't know."

Dawn smiled gently at him. "It's okay. I get it. The heart wants what the heart wants, right?" Unbidden, Kenny's face appeared in her mind, laughing green eyes and all.

"I guess," said Eric. "But it doesn't matter. She doesn't really see me. All she sees is Paul."

"Give it time," Dawn said encouragingly. "She'll come around. And if she doesn't, well then, it's her loss."

"You know, if you and Paul would stop beating around the bush and start dating already, it'd be a big help to me," said Eric hopefully.

Dawn frowned at him. "Paul and I are just friends."

"Riight. And I'm actually a Norwegian hair stylist named Sven." Eric rolled his eyes. "Get real, Dawn. You and Paul are always together. You're practically finishing each other's sentences. It's meant to be."

"I think you're the one who needs to get real, Eric," said Dawn, laughing. "The only thing I'm meant to be with is chocolate."

"Tsk tsk," said Eric. "Denial never helped anyone."

"No, but a Louisville Slugger did," replied Dawn threateningly.

"Alright, alright." Eric held his hands up in surrender. "But when the two of you start dating in a couple months, I'll be the one to say, 'I told you so'."

"And when you recover from whatever massive brain injury you've suffered," retorted Dawn, smacking Eric upside the head, "I'll be sure to send you some flowers and a nice card."

Eric stuck his tongue out at her, which elicited another whack upside the head from Dawn.

"Um, _hello_?" Nicole was curling her lip at them from across the room. "If you're both done behaving like children, Paul and I need the robot. You know, to actually do some work?"

Eric scurried over to the computer while Dawn stared coolly back at Nicole. Whatever the other girl thought, Dawn wasn't afraid or intimidated by her.

"You know, Dawn," said Nicole condescendingly, "if you're going to be such a distraction, then maybe you shouldn't be here. After all, what we're trying to do is a bit more difficult than painting our fingernails."

In her mind, Dawn was imagining how satisfying it would be to sink said fingernails into Nicole's face, bubblegum nail polish and all. Out loud, however, all she said was, "Oh, I can see that. The disco ball really makes that clear."

Nicole flushed angrily but was apparently unable to think of a good retort. She glared at Dawn for another second before turning back to the computer, a vein on her forehead throbbing erratically. Dawn met Paul's gaze for a split second, and she thought he looked apologetic and amused and exasperated, all at once. She just grinned and pulled her latest project from Mr. Xenakis out from her bag, making sure that Nicole got a good look at the cover. Now, Dawn couldn't know for sure, but she was certain that the title, _Applied Calculus in the Fields of Chemistry, Physics, and Engineering, _might have caught Nicole's attention. Why else would Nicole crush an engine rotor in her bare hands?

It wasn't until after the practice had ended that Nicole cornered Dawn alone in the hallway. Luke and Eric had left a while ago, but Paul was still packing up some equipment when Dawn went to get a drink from the water fountain. When she turned around, she found herself staring into a pair of angry hazel eyes framed by lank, dirty blonde hair.

Dawn sighed. "What do you want, Nicole?" She did her best to sound as bored as possible.

"What are you playing at, Dawn?" asked Nicole bluntly.

"I don't know what you're taking about."

"Oh, don't play dumb with me," snapped Nicole. "You might not care what happens to Paul because of you, but some of us do."

"Look, if this is about the truck—" Dawn started to say, but Nicole cut her off.

"No, this isn't about the truck. This is about Paul getting beaten up in the locker room," snarled Nicole. "This about Barry and the rest of the football team knocking him down two flights of stairs. This is about—"

"What are you talking about?" Dawn had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Paul didn't say anything about—"

"Of course he didn't," said Nicole irritably. "He doesn't want you to 'feel bad'."

Dawn was very quiet, thinking back over the last week or so. She had noticed Paul walking with a slight limp Monday when they got out of school, but when she mentioned, he said he had twisted his ankle during gym. And come to think of it, he had been favoring his left arm yesterday after trig class.

"If you actually care about him at all as a friend, do Paul a favor, okay? Leave him alone." Nicole narrowed her eyes at Dawn, intense dislike filling every facet of her gaze. "With friends like you, Dawn, he doesn't really need enemies."

And with that, Nicole turned and stalked away, her ratty ponytail twitching tetchily behind her.

"Hey, ready to do?" asked Paul, coming out of the lab. Dawn didn't hear him at first. "Dawn?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, sure. Let's go," she said, avoiding his gaze as they walked out to the parking lot. It wasn't until they got into the truck that she managed to muster up the courage to ask Paul a question.

"Paul?"

"Yeah?"

"What happened to your arm yesterday?"

"Why?" he asked suspiciously, his gray gaze sharp and perceptive from behind the wheel.

Dawn took a deep breath. "Nicole said—"

"I'll kill her," Paul growled, interrupting Dawn. "I told her not to say anything."

"Why? Why would you do that?" cried Dawn. "You're getting beaten up and pushed down stairs, and I'm the last to know. Why?"

Paul sighed unhappily. "Because I knew this was how you'd react, Dawn."

"Oh, pardon me for being concerned," snapped Dawn. "How completely ridiculous of me."

"I'm not talking about this," said Paul firmly. "It's not a big deal, and honestly, it's not really any of your business either."

Dawn's eyes flashed dangerously as she sat up in her seat to glare at him. "Not any of my business? Really? You're going to go there? I thought we were friends. Or is that only when it's convenient for you?"

Paul groaned, slapping the steering wheel as he pulled onto her street. "You know what I mean, Dawn. It's between me and them, okay? I don't want you getting in the middle of it."

"But I'm the reason you're involved at all," Dawn argued. "You're getting pushed down stairs because we're friends."

"I can handle it," replied Paul coolly. "Really, it's not that big of a deal." He pulled up in front of her house, yanking the emergency break and flicking off his headlights. "Really, it's not."

Dawn stared at him incredulously. "You cannot be serious."

"When am I ever not serious?" asked Paul, making a good attempt at lightening the mood. When Dawn continued to glower at him, he slumped back onto his seat and sighed. "Dawn, I don't want to fight with you. Not about this."

"I don't want to fight either," said Dawn miserably. "I just feel . . ."

"Helpless?" offered Paul glumly.

"Yeah."

"Join the party."

"Are there cookies?"

"Nope."

"Figures."

"Later, Blue."

"Later, Violet."

* * *

><p><strong>Now, if I was a nice person instead of an evil mastermind, Dawn and Paul would confess their undying love for each other right here and now. Of course, I <strong>_**am**_** an evil mastermind, so I think I'm going to break a few hearts first. It's a lot more fun, you know. On a side note, I saw something funny on Facebook the other day. It was this little blurb that read, "Now, I'm not asking for, 'And they lived happily ever after.' I'm just asking for, 'And they **_**lived**_**.' Which accurately describes about every fandom ever." I almost died because I couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. It's so true. So. True. Anyway, hopefully I'll get the next chapter up soon now that the holidays have died down. Thanks so much to everyone who's reading, and if you're looking to get me a belated Christmas present, reviews are much appreciated (hint hint wink wink). Oh, and one more thing. If anyone has suggestions for oneshots, feel free to private message me or leave a note in a review. I can't promise I'll be able to use every idea, but if it really sticks in my brain and turns into a story, I'll give a shout out to whoever gave me the idea. Thanks!**


	15. Questions

**Wow, I think this is the most I've written in one sitting in a long time. There are a lot of things in this chapter that I'm going to continue building on for the rest of the story, including (duh) Dawn and Paul's relationship, romantic as well as platonic, Dawn and Kenny's relationship, and Dawn and Paul's respective backstories. That said, I'll shut up and let you read. Thanks!**

* * *

><p>"Okay, so I have a question," said Kenny seriously. It was the Friday before Christmas, and he and Dawn were at a diner near the high school. December had seemed to fly by for Dawn. In between massive amounts of homework, chaotic Christmas shopping, and a spat of nasty weather, Dawn and Kenny had been meeting regularly at the diner.<p>

Usually, they just got fries and milkshakes and talked, but occasionally Kenny convinced Dawn to actually have dinner with him. It was all very romantic, and although they were still officially "just friends", it was obvious that their feelings for one another went beyond friendship.

"Shoot," said Dawn, twirling her straw around in her chocolate milkshake glass.

"You know that Jimmy Kenta's having a Christmas Eve party, right?"

"Oh, yeah, I got an invite last week," said Dawn, trying to sound casual. In reality, her heart had begun to race; she had an inkling as to where this conversation was going.

"Well, I was wondering, you know, if you don't already have other plans, if you wanted to go . . . with me." Kenny looked at her hopefully from over the rim of his glass.

Dawn winced. "Oh, I'm sorry Kenny. There's this really interesting Frisbee competition on TV that night, so I was just going to stay home and watch it."

Kenny's face fell. "Oh, that's okay, I just though . . . hey!"

Dawn was laughing, a napkin pressed against her face as she struggled to contain her mirth. "I'm sorry, I had to. It was too good an opportunity to pass up. Of course I'll go with you, Kenny."

"You're lucky you're cute," growled Kenny. He quickly realized what he had said, and blushed furiously.

A light, bubbly feeling had invaded Dawn's head by this point, and she couldn't help but giggle girlishly. "That's sweet."

"Well, you know me," said Kenny, grinning impishly. "I definitely have a sweet tooth."

Now it was Dawn's turn to blush. Kenny was flirting with her—shamelessly—and she was enjoying it—shamelessly.

Kenny looked at his watch and sighed regretfully. "We should probably get going. I want to get you home before it really starts snowing."

"Yeah, the roads around here can get really bad," Dawn agreed. Kenny tossed a couple bills on the table and they headed for the door. Outside, a few snow flurries were falling, but nothing too serious. Dawn thought they looked pretty in a delicate sort of way; light, airy flakes of glitter catching the moonlight as they fell softly to earth.

"I love the snow," Dawn said happily as she got into Kenny's car.

"I remember," he said. "You always used to corral me into helping you build snow forts in your back yard."

"Oh, I remember," said Dawn, but now she was feeling slightly uneasy. They were drifting into dangerous territory here. Into Jennaland, one might say.

And sure enough, Kenny said, "There was that one time you made Jenna help you make window panes out of ice, and—"

"I don't want to talk about Jenna," Dawn interrupted, her fists clenched tightly at her side.

Kenny was quiet for a second. "Dawn, I'm—"

"No," groaned Dawn, "no, don't apologize. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I just . . ."

"No one here knows about Jenna, do they?" asked Kenny softly.

"No, they don't," whispered Dawn. "And I want to keep it that way."

"You know I wouldn't say anything," said Kenny, looking slightly hurt.

"I know you wouldn't," Dawn replied, smiling at him warmly. "I know you."

Kenny grinned. "Oh, really? If you know me so well, then please, tell me. What's my favorite color?"

It was a very blatant attempt to change the subject, and one that Dawn was abjectly grateful for.

"Hunter green," she answered immediately.

Kenny nodded. "Correct. Your turn."

"To what?"

"Ask me a question."

"Okay, um . . ." Dawn thought hard. "Well, what's my favorite color?"

Kenny snorted. "That's a trick question. It changes like, every five minutes."

"That's not true!"

"Yes, it is. You can never decide which one you like best."

Dawn pouted. "Fine. Your turn."

They continued their game the entire way home. Small, innocuous questions became their shield, a safeguard between them and the ghosts that always seemed to lurk just beneath the surface, waiting to pounce. Dawn was thankful for the small questions, because small questions were safe. They didn't carry the threats that the big questions did, big questions that she was all too eager to avoid.

* * *

><p>Dawn didn't sleep well that night. Her dreams were vivid and fragmented; the shriek of brakes, Jenna's laughing voice, glass shattering, music streaming from car speakers, all of it permeated Dawn's subconscious as she tossed and turned in bed. And that car, that startlingly white car spinning endless in circles no matter how hard Dawn tried to make it stop.<p>

She woke up in a cold sweat, breathing shallowly as she waited for her pulse to slow. Sitting up, Dawn pressed her face into her hands. In her mind, the car was still spinning. It never stopped.

"The hell with this," muttered Dawn, swinging her legs over the edge of her bed. She walked to the window and yanked her curtains aside, letting the weak winter sunlight stream into the room. Frost had climbed up over the window pane overnight, etching a pattern of icy lacework while Dawn slept fitfully.

Dawn sighed and headed downstairs, listening for her parents as she eased down the hallway. Their door was shut, as usual, a wooden barrier than stood between Dawn and her parents. Although, if she was being honest with herself, Dawn knew that more than a door stood between them.

In the kitchen, Dawn was just reaching for a cereal bowl when her phone rang.

"Yola," she said as she poured herself a liberal amount of Cocoa Puffs.

"Is that even English?" asked Paul, sounding surlier than usual. Even though she knew he couldn't see her, Dawn stuck her tongue out at him. Of course, then Paul said, "And stop sticking your tongue out at me."

"How did you know?"

"The same way you're picturing me rolling my eyes right now," Paul replied.

That was exactly what Dawn had been doing. She shivered. "Okay, that's really weird."

"I know."

"Okay, I don't want to say Nicole's right or anything, but maybe we are spending too much time together."

"Don't you dare tell her that," Paul said quickly. "I've already had to use you as an excuse twice."

"An excuse for what?" Dawn asked, amused. She put the phone on speaker as she sat down at the dining room table, not wanting to crunch cereal in Paul's ear.

"As to why I'm not available tonight," answered Paul. "Or Thursday night."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Tonight's not a big deal, but you're going to have to think of something else for Thursday."

Paul cursed. "I forgot. Jimmy's party is Thursday."

"How do you know about that?"

"Dawn, _everyone _knows about that. If you would stop being so stubborn and talk to May and Marina again, you'd know what's going on in school."

"Hey, they're the ones who started it," Dawn pointed out.

"Yes, yes, I know," Paul replied impatiently. "But Dawn, nothing says that they have to like every single one of your friends."

"They called you dangerous!" Dawn objected.

"Dawn, I accidentally burned down a school," Paul said, sounding completely exasperated. "That's not exactly playing it safe. And honestly, I would have been concerned if May and Marina weren't a little worried for you."

"So . . . you think I should make up with them?" asked Dawn doubtfully. "Even after all the stuff they said about you?"

Paul sighed. "Dawn, you can't fight every battle for me. And I'm not one to go looking for universal approval. I'm not going to hold it against you if each and every one of your friends isn't completely in love with me."

Everything Paul was saying was completely correct, but there was something about his tone that made Dawn's heart clench in sympathy. He sounded so . . . resigned. No, defeated. Like he'd already tried fighting this battle and lost.

"Alright," Dawn said quietly. "I'll talk to them this week. But this wasn't what we were talking about."

"Right, we were talking about how you're leaving me absolutely defenseless to Nicole tender mercies."

"Oh, come on," complained Dawn. "Stop being so dramatic and call Luke and Eric and have a guys' night out or something."

"I can't," Paul said glumly. "They both have family stuff going on that night."

"Okay, um . . ." Dawn thought hard, trying to think of some excuse. "Say the same thing. Tell Nicole that you have family stuff going on."

Paul laughed bitterly. "Yeah, that's not going to work."

"Why not?"

"It's just not," Paul said curtly. Something in his voice warned Dawn to move on; there was a hardness there that she had never heard before, something that told her that this conversation was over.

"Pretend to be sick?" Dawn offered lamely.

Paul just sighed. "I'm so screwed."

"Sorry," she said sympathetically. "If I hadn't already told Kenny I'd go with him, I could stay home."

"You're going to the party with Kenny?" Paul asked.

"Yeah. I mean, just as friends," Dawn said, blushing. She didn't know why she felt as though she had to justify her relationship with Kenny to Paul.

Paul laughed. "Oh, really? Does Kenny know that?"

Dawn sniffed disdainfully. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Riight," Paul said sarcastically. "Just answer one question for me. When he asked you, did he specifically say 'as friends'?"

"Well . . . no."

"I rest my case."

"I hate you."

"Whatever you say, Midnight."

"Keep it up, Amethyst," Dawn growled. "Keep it up."

"Oh, relax," Paul groaned. "I'm already being punished enough as it is."

"Can I ask you something?" Dawn watched the milk drain off her spoon into the almost empty bowl.

"Shoot."

"Why _don't_ you like Nicole? I mean, she seems like the kind of girl you would like."

"Oh, gee, thanks," Paul said sarcastically. "I'm glad you think I'd like overbearing, obnoxious, clingy girls. That really makes me feel good about myself."

"Sorry," Dawn said quickly. "I just meant because she's smart and not an airhead."

"Because obviously, those are the only two qualities a man should look for in a potential girlfriend, Paul said snarkily.

"Will you quit it? I was just curious."

Paul chuckled. "I get it, Dawn. But no, Nicole's not really my type. You're right about her being smart, but still, not my type."

"I'm confused."

"Nicole's brilliant, or she could be."

"What do you mean?"

"No matter what we're working on, Nicole always defers to me," answered Paul. "For example, she has a lost more experience with the type of coding we're using for this robot. But even if I suggest something that's completely wrong, and she knows it's completely wrong, she'll still agree with me."

"Because she likes you," Dawn said. "All girls do that."

"Oh, so you agree with Kenny on everything simply because you like him?"

"No, I don't," Dawn admitted. "But still . . . and I don't like Kenny!" she added quickly.

"Sure you don't," Paul said mockingly.

"You should be nicer to me," Dawn said sweetly.

"And why's that?"

"Because if you don't, I might have plans tonight, too," Dawn said, grinning evilly. "And then where would you be."

Paul was silent for a moment. "There's a special place in hell for people like you."

"Yes, yes there is," Dawn agreed. "And it's covered in pink glitter."

"Oh, dear lord."

"Anyway, what did you want to do tonight?" Dawn stretched as she stood up, putting her bowl in the sink and heading for the couch.

"Find a nice underground bunker somewhere and hide?" Paul offered.

"Um, no. But you can come over and we can watch a movie or something."

Paul sighed. "No horror movies."

"Paul, it's almost Christmas," Dawn said, sounding offended. "Am I really the type of girl who would watch horror movies at Christmastime?"

"Absolutely," Paul said immediately.

Dawn pouted. "Fine, no horror movies. How about Disney?"

"Dawn, if I wanted to lose half my brain cells, I would just go out with Nicole."

"Don't tell me you actually want to watch a Christmas movie?" she asked in surprise.

"Dear God, no. Who do you think I am, Eric?"

Dawn laughed. "Okay, well why don't we figure this out later? Since you're obviously going to disagree with everything I say just to be contrary."

"Ah, you know me so well," Paul said.

"See you later, Paul," Dawn said, shaking her head and smiling.

"Later . . . Cyan."

"Paul!"

* * *

><p>When Paul showed up later that day, Dawn was ready. Right after she had gotten off the phone with him, Dawn had found a note from her parents taped to the fridge. They had been gone before she had even woken up, off to close some business deal or something.<p>

If Dawn was being honest with herself, she was a little bit relieved that they were gone. Her parents were so frequently absent that on the rare occasions that they actually were home, their presence only seemed to interfere with Dawn's routine. She functioned better when left to her own devices.

And so, without the distraction of having to tiptoe around her parents, Dawn started the preparations.

"What _happened_ here?" Paul asked, staring around the living room with wide eyes.

"Magic," Dawn said simply.

The living room had been completely transformed into a movie lover's paradise. The couch was heaped with about ten different fuzzy blankets and oversized plush pillows. Snack tables were covered with mini-hotdogs and mozzarella sticks and cheese and cracker plates and . . . basically, anything that Dawn found that was slightly edible and fell under the snack category, ended up in the room.

Paul started to chuckle to himself.

"What's so funny?" Dawn asked peevishly.

"It's just so . . . you," Paul replied, still chuckling. "I mean, you did all this, but I bet you still haven't been able to choose a movie. Right?" Paul smirked at her, but Dawn was very still. "Dawn?"

She snapped. Snatching up a pillow from the couch, Dawn started beating Paul fiercely with it, paying special attention to his head and face.

"You—know it all—dammit—argh!" In the end, words failed her, and Dawn settled for one last whack. The pillow made contact with Paul's chest with an almighty _fwoomp_, and down he went, collapsing onto the couch.

Dawn was breathing heavily, glaring at Paul with blazing eyes as he lay wheezing on the sofa. Just as she started to feel satisfied that she had made her point, Dawn realized that Paul was still _laughing_.

"Paul!" she yelled, raising the pillow for another round. This time, however, Paul grabbed it as Dawn swung, wrestling her to the floor and pinning her arms to her side. Dawn twisted and wriggled, but he was stronger than her. She finally gave up, panting, red faced, as she glared up into Paul's teasing gray gaze.

"Are you done?" he asked, still looking insultingly amused.

"Let me up," Dawn said firmly, still shooting daggers at him.

"No."

"What do you mean, no?" Dawn snapped.

"You'll hit me," Paul replied.

"No I won't," Dawn said, but even she didn't believe herself.

"Yes, you will, and I'm not done laughing yet." Their eyes locked again, and all of a sudden, Dawn was too hot. Their faces were very close together and it felt as if something had simultaneously electrified the air and solidified it. Dawn had a hard time drawing breath. Paul's hands felt extremely hot against the skin of her wrists and she wasn't entirely sure why.

"Are you done?" Paul asked again, more quietly than he had before, and this time Dawn nodded. She would have done anything to get him to let her up so she could make the air stop buzzing. Paul slowly let go of her wrists and sat back.

For a second, neither of them said anything. Dawn cast around frantically for anything to distract from the awkwardness of the moment. Finally, she said, "You know, I try and do something nice, and all I get is sarcasm." Dawn narrowed her eyes. "All I ask for is a little appreciation."

Paul sighed. "It's all extremely wonderful, Dawn, and I can't believe that you managed to get so much accomplished in so little time." He looked at her expectantly as he took a bite out of a mini-hotdog.

Dawn grinned in spite of herself. "False flattery will get you nowhere," she said, standing up.

"Riiight," Paul said under his breath.

"What was that?" Dawn asked sharply.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Paul said, looking at her innocently.

"Uh huh," Dawn said skeptically. "Well then, since you're Mr. Perfect, I'll let you choose the movie tonight." Dawn pointed to a large cardboard box in the corner, overflowing with DVD cases. "There are your options. Make sure you look at each and every one so you can make an informed decision."

Paul groaned. "Is it too late to say I'm sorry?" he asked weakly.

Dawn smiled sweetly at him. "Yes. Yes, it is."

* * *

><p><strong>Phew. So. Many. Words. For those of you who like these kinds of things, next chapter is definitely going to be the Christmas party chapter. Yay, parties! Plus, a little bit of holiday romance (wink wink), although I won't say for whom just yet. Also, I'm a little curious. What are your thoughts on Eric, Luke, and Nicole? I didn't originally plan on putting OCs in this story, and I've been trying to keep them to a minimum, but I still want to know what you guys think. And I'm still up for any oneshot suggestions anyone might have, especially for ikarishipping and contestshipping. Reviews are always wonderful, and I want to stress how very grateful I am to everyone who's read this story andor left a review. You guys make it so much fun to write this story, and I can't wait for you to see some of the stuff I have planned for Dawn and Paul. **


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